crossing borders, sharing stories - s u · theatre class that resulted in an original performance...
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Master’s Degree Studies in
International and Comparative Education, No. 49
—————————————————
Crossing Borders, Sharing Stories
A Case Study Using Applied Theatre for the Empowerment and
Integration of Young Refugees
Elisé Lammers
May, 2018
Department of Education
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Abstract
As forced migration continues to challenge Europe, young refugees and asylum seekers
struggle to integrate into their host societies. This study examines young migrants’
empowerment journey through the applied theatre process. It investigates whether an
improved sense of empowerment could assist in refugees’ personal agency in their
resettlement efforts.
This study involved nine male refugees between the ages of 17 and 20 in an 11-week
theatre class that resulted in an original performance of their migration experiences to a
local population in Stockholm, Sweden. Using the Action Research method, it derived its
pedagogy from Theatre of the Oppressed and employed Empowerment Theory to
examine the results. This study found that applied theatre could significantly elevate
young migrants’ feelings of empowerment. However, those feelings were fleeting if their
life circumstances, particularly surrounding their refugee status, were unstable. The
project compared the results with previous literature on applied theatre with marginalized
groups to contribute to theories on the usefulness of this pedagogy with refugees.
Sustainability of the participants’ feelings and the project were discussed as crucial
ethical considerations for doing work with young refugees. Finally, this paper
recommends the use of applied theatre as a viable non-formal educational supplement to
address the global refugee crisis.
Key Terms: Young refugees, young asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, applied
theatre, action research, empowerment, integration, Theatre of the Oppressed, non-formal
education
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Acknowledgements
My deepest gratitude goes to the participants of this study. Their dedication, creativity,
vulnerability, and joyful spirits taught me more than I taught them. The courage they
mustered to share their stories not only inspired those of us that witnessed their
performances, but made a notable contribution towards the quest to find big and small
solutions to the global refugee crisis.
Without the encouragement, thoughtfulness and sound direction of my thesis advisor, Dr.
Jonas Gustafsson, I would not have found the confidence or the stamina to complete this
project.
To my intelligent peer reviewers, Saskia Mellema and Astrid Høgmo, and the rest of the
2016-2018 cohort: I have enjoyed every conversation, in and out of class, and value
profoundly your perspectives. I wish you all the best of luck.
Thank you, Dr. Elfriede Wedam, for being an inspiration and a role model, for the
countless hours of reading and editing over the last two years, and for your unwavering
belief in my abilities, artistically and academically. Thank you, also, for giving me life.
Finally, I am grateful to Prof. Ulf Fredriksson for nominating me for the 2018 Global
Swede award given by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acknowledging this
project as one that has the potential to make a real and lasting impact.
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Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ 4
List of Abbreviations and Swedish Terms ............................................................................ 6
List of Tables and Figures ........................................................................................................ 6
1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1.1 The Refugee Crisis in Europe ............................................................................................................. 8 1.1.2 Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Sweden ........................................................................ 9 1.1.3 Non-formal Education for Refugee Youth Resettlement and the Role of Empowerment
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 12 1.2 Aim, Objectives, and Research Questions ............................................................................. 13 1.3 Organization of Paper ................................................................................................................. 14 1.4 Significance to International and Comparative Education ............................................... 15 1.5 Limitations and Delimitations................................................................................................... 16
2 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 18 2.1 Empowerment ............................................................................................................................... 18 2.2 Pedagogy of the Oppressed ........................................................................................................ 22 2.3 Theatre of the Oppressed ........................................................................................................... 24
3 Key Concepts ......................................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Applied Theatre ............................................................................................................................ 27 3.2 Integration ..................................................................................................................................... 28
4 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 33 4.1 Qualitative Research and the Case Study Method .............................................................. 33 4.2 Epistemology and Ontology ....................................................................................................... 34 4.3 Action Research in Education ................................................................................................... 35 4.4 Study Design .................................................................................................................................. 37 4.5 Sampling ......................................................................................................................................... 39 4.6 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................. 41 4.7 Quality Criteria ............................................................................................................................ 42
4.7.1 Transferability and Sustainability ................................................................................................... 43 4.7.2 Dependability and Credibility .......................................................................................................... 43 4.7.3 Triangulation ......................................................................................................................................... 44
4.8 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................................ 44 4.8.1 Anonymity, Confidentiality and Consent ..................................................................................... 44 4.8.2 Working with Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers .............................................................. 45 4.8.3 Ethical Practices in Action Research ............................................................................................. 46
4.9 Analytical Procedure ................................................................................................................... 47
5 Data Analysis and Findings................................................................................................ 50 5.1 Background Codes ....................................................................................................................... 50 5.2 Descriptive Codes ......................................................................................................................... 52 5.3 Concepts ......................................................................................................................................... 53
5.3.1 Refugee Experience ............................................................................................................................ 53
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5.3.2 Integration Experience ....................................................................................................................... 54 5.3.3 Empowerment Experience ................................................................................................................ 55 5.3.4 Participant-Identified Characteristics ............................................................................................ 57 5.3.5 Community ............................................................................................................................................ 59 5.3.6 Quality of Project and Social Impact ............................................................................................. 60 5.3.7 Sustainability of Experience ............................................................................................................. 62 5.3.8 Negative Experiences ......................................................................................................................... 64
5.4 Themes ............................................................................................................................................ 66 5.5 Findings .......................................................................................................................................... 68
5.5.1 Empowerment ....................................................................................................................................... 68 5.5.2 Integration .............................................................................................................................................. 68 5.5.3 Sustainability of Empowerment and Integration ....................................................................... 69
6 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 70 6.1 How the Participants Benefited from the Research and the Sustainability of Those
Benefits .................................................................................................................................................. 70 6.2 Contribution to the Field of Applied Theatre for Young Refugees and Generalizability
................................................................................................................................................................. 73 6.3 International Repeatability ....................................................................................................... 74
7 Reflections on Research ...................................................................................................... 76
8 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 79
9 References .............................................................................................................................. 80
10 Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 88 10.1 Hand-drawn Study Design Map ............................................................................................. 88 10.2 Participant Consent Form ....................................................................................................... 89 10.3 Guardian Consent Form .......................................................................................................... 91 10.4 Interview Guide 1 ...................................................................................................................... 93 10.5 Interview Guide 2 ....................................................................................................................... 94 10.7 Word Cloud ................................................................................................................................. 96 10.8 Open Coding ............................................................................................................................... 97 10.9 Descriptions of Codes ................................................................................................................ 99
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List of Abbreviations and Swedish Terms
AR – Action Research
AT – Applied Theatre
EC – European Commission
EE – Empowering Education
EFS – Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm (The Association for Unaccompanied
Minors Stockholm)
ET – Empowerment Theory
EP – European Parliament
EU – European Union
FT – Forum Theatre
PAR – Participatory Action Research
PO – Pedagogy of the Oppressed
RQs – Research Questions
TO – Theatre of the Oppressed
TR – Teacher-researcher
UK – United Kingdom
UN – United Nations
UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UM – Unaccompanied Minors
YR – Young Refugees
YAS – Young Asylum Seekers
Migrationsverket – Migration board
Kommun – Municipality
List of Tables and Figures
Tables Table 1: Empowering Processes and Empowered Outcomes Across Levels of Analysis Table 2. Interviewee Responses to Preset Codes
Figures Figure A. Quota of Refugees Coming to Sweden
Figure B. Unaccompanied Minors Per Month 2004-2017
Figure C. The Individual and Collective Empowerment Process
Figure D: Percentage of Population of EU Countries that Favor Migrants with Work
Skills and Educational Qualifications
Figure E: Action Research Helix
Figure F: Action Research Cycle
Figure G: Study Design
Figure H. Participant Demographics
Figure I: Data Analysis
Figure J: Self-esteem Survey Results
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1 Introduction
To Leave Behind
It is not easy to leave behind
Your birthplace, your kin your kind.
Even harder is the craving of your scent,
Which is still present in my mind.
Your image still before my eyes,
Your smell still under my nose,
Your shadow still in my mind.
Under your cold winter I was born,
And under your burning sun I was raised.
Both during your winter and summer I have played and danced,
And under your fall and spring, fallen and reborn.
Now I will be leaving you behind.
Now I will go against all odds to shape my destiny.
Be fate with me or against me.
- Darun Ismahil (participant)
The experience of forced migrants’ displacement and journey to a safer place often goes
unexpressed. For some, revisiting the hardship is too traumatic. For others, it is an
important part of the healing process. For those willing to share, it can also be a way for
them to integrate with the host society, inciting empathy and understanding from native-
born citizens.
Healing and integration are crucial for young migrants to move forward with their
lives, but they need to feel empowered to do so. They need access to opportunities
outside of formal schools to develop their sense of agency, resilience, and empowerment,
and to form supportive communities. This case study uses applied theatre, a participatory,
arts-based educational method, to examine empowerment and integration readiness
among young refugees and asylum seekers. The results are compared with previous case
studies to examine the theories and practices used for them to gain a sense of control over
their lives and futures, and to create the societal change they wish to see. It also discusses
the potential for applied theatre projects to assist in the integration of newcomers into
host societies. This study is conducted with the hope that more local, community-based
solutions will be developed in host countries to help the hundreds of thousands of young,
forcibly displaced people each year.
This study may not come up with clean results. Peoples’ feelings, values, and
experiences are not quantifiable. But that does not mean that social scientists should not
study them. The bravest scholars pioneer the effort to examine and understand what
others have previous stated is too unreliable to measure. This study is for scientists and
educators that care to listen and empathize during their research process. It is for people
who realize that the refugee problem needs to be thought about in different ways, and
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new research should dare to experiment with creative solutions.
1.1 Background
1.1.1 The Refugee Crisis in Europe
Scenes depicted from Europe’s southern borders present an overwhelming flood of
desperate people on the move. Migrants are arriving in droves to avoid conflict in Syria,
Africa and the Middle East. Italy’s coast guard continues to rescue thousands of migrants
from overcrowded boats off Libya’s coast while Greece’s refugee camps house tens of
thousands. The European Union (EU) has promoted an official policy of providing
refuge, but many of its member countries have resisted offering asylum to seekers
(ECPHAO, 2016; Essomba, 2017). This may be because meeting migrants’ needs and
rights such as food, housing, health care, and education puts ‘’an enormous strain’’ on
some EU countries’ resources (EC, 2017). Government agencies across Europe are
crumpling under a backlog of applications, leaving asylum seekers feeling neglected. The
Dublin Regulation holds the EU member state where asylum seekers first arrive
responsible for their application (UNHCR, 2018a). But the EU’s asylum system wasn’t
built to withstand the numbers it has been facing since the onset of the Syrian war in
2011. Many argue that the Dublin Regulation is both inherently unfair and logistically
specious since the majority of applications fall on the southern border countries. The EU
has also drawn a clear distinction between forced migrants and economic migrants, the
latter being those whose lives are not endangered but are in search of better jobs or
education. In this case, the EU obliges national governments to ensure that these migrants
return to their home countries or another country through which they have passed (EC,
2017).
Between 2015 and 2017, Europe experienced the largest influx (more than one
million) of refugees and migrants since World War II, making it an unprecedented
humanitarian and political crisis (Lu, 2018). This is just a portion of the 65 million people
displaced worldwide as a result of violent conflict and natural disasters (ECPHAO,
2016). While the numbers have dropped in 2018, largely due to Italy’s training of the
Libyan coast guard and use of powerful militias to intercept and return migrants—
something UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, calls
‘’inhuman’’— (‘’Migrant crisis,’’ 2016) the refugee crisis is ongoing. Another
speculated reason for this drop is fighting among smuggler groups (‘’Migrant crisis,’’
2016).
Few that survive the journey know where they are headed or how long it will take
to get there. The nearly 90% of migrants that pay thousands of US dollars to smugglers
(EC, 2017) are distributed randomly around Europe. If they are lucky, they survive. If
even luckier, their money buys them taxi rides and train tickets beyond the borders of
Lesbos, Italy or Turkey. But there exists a lack of durable solutions in receiving EU
countries, not only with the processing of asylum applications but also with the smooth
integration of refugees. The common priorities in addition to learning the host country’s
language and laws are for adult refugees to enter the workforce and refugee children and
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youth to enroll in school. This accelerates the process of financial independence,
relieving the host governments from providing support1. Education and job training are
also important for refugees’ social development, and to be recognized by the host
population as contributing to rather than depleting the society’s resources. Therefore,
dynamic and long-term strategies from the governmental, professional, and academic
realms are urgently needed. This paper proposes that the burden for the successful
integration of young migrants cannot fall entirely on schools and teachers. They need
supplemental educational opportunities in non-formal forms.
1.1.2 Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Sweden
Because this case study took place in Stockholm, it is relevant to understand the political
and social environment of the participants in the study. Yet the findings of this research
are not intended to be context specific. Rather, they are designed to better understand the
potential of applied theatre (AT) for young refugees (YR) and young asylum seekers2
(YAS) throughout Europe and the world.
The term ‘young’ includes migrants that are considered of youth age (15-24) by
the United Nations (Evans, Dr. R., Lo Forte, C., & Fraser, Dr. E. M., 2013). Those below
the age of 18 who arrived at Sweden’s border alone are considered unaccompanied
minors (UM) and are sometimes prioritized in Sweden’s system. However, a report
published by Human Rights Watch indicates that Sweden is sorely unfulfilling its
obligation to UM (‘’Seeking refuge,’’ 2016). Some UM wait five months or more
without receiving a decision from Migrationsverket, Sweden’s migration board. Anger,
depression, suicidal behavior, and other mental conditions are reported because of this
waiting period (AFP, 2017; Lysna på mig!, 2017; Nordenstam & Lesser, 2016; Osterud,
2017). Late last year, Save the Children (Rädda Barnen) in Sweden published a report
titled, Listen to me! (Lyssna på mig!) that surveyed 2,500 UM in Sweden. They listed the
most critical issues troubling UM as (1) lack of understanding of the asylum process, (2)
fear of asylum application rejection, (3) unsatisfactory housing and host families, (4)
missing home and family (Arnö, 2017). “I came to Sweden with dreams,” one UM was
quoted, “but Sweden gave me nightmares,” translated from: “Jag kom till Sverige med
drömmar, men Sverige gav mig mardrömmar” (Arnö, 2017, p. 5).
Furthermore, the Swedish Local reported deportations of Afghan UM in October
of last year because their applications were rejected, they committed crimes in Sweden,
they turned 18 in the process of waiting for an answer, or because they couldn’t prove
their age (Lammers, 2018). Amnesty International as well as international non-
governmental agencies such as the Red Cross and Save the Children met this decision
with strong criticism. In their 2017 report, Afghanistan: forced back to danger (2017),
1 For example, asylum seekers in Sweden receive daily compensation that includes accommodation and
food plus 24kr/day for single adults, 19kr/day for adults that share household expenses, and 12kr/day for
children under 18 years of age; daily compensation is higher for those that do not receive food
(Migrationsverket, 2018e). 2 Asylum seekers are migrants who have filed applications for asylum and are waiting to be granted
residence permits, thus granting them refugee status.
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Amnesty International stated that the deportation of minors to Afghanistan violates
international law and should be stopped. Sweden’s Migrationsverket expects to hand over
around 50,000 deportations to police in the coming years (‘’Swedish police face tough
task…’’, 2017). The idea of being sent back or needing to migrate to another country
causes young refugees enormous anxiety. That coupled with being separated from their
support networks can result in them causing harm to themselves. In February of 2017,
Norwegian and UK newspapers reported three deaths out of seven suicide attempts made
by UM in Sweden (AFP, 2017; Oesterud, 2017). That followed a period in 2014 where a
reported 500 asylum seekers of all ages threatened or attempted suicide. Mikeal
Ribbenvik, director of operations at Migrationsverket, conceded that 500 is likely an
undercount since suicidal behavior is only recorded when it affects Migrationsverket
staffers’ working conditions (Nordenstam & Lesser, 2016).
In Sweden’s defense, they have raised their refugee quota to 5,000 in 2018 from
1,900 in 2016, making them the third largest recipient country in Europe
(Migrationsverket, 2018a). Most slots will be given to refugees from the Middle East and
East Africa, fleeing from the war in Syria. See Figure A below for the planned
distribution.
Figure A. Quota Refugees Coming to Sweden (Migrationsverket, 2018a)
A probable explanation for Sweden’s low quota in 2016 is due to the massive influx of
asylum seekers that arrived in 2015 (approximately 160,000 with more than 35,000 UM)
(Roden, 2017a). Before November 14, 2015, most applicants were granted residence
permits. Since that date, AS arriving at Sweden’s borders have only been given
temporary residence permits, and family reunification has been restricted. Figure B
shows the number and flux of UM arriving in Sweden between 2004 and 2017 by month.
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Figure B. Unaccompanied Minors Per Month 2004-2017 (Migrationsverket, 2018b)
Note: ‘barn’ translates to ‘children’
As of 1 March 2018, a reported 2,154 migrants have applied for asylum, 610 of which are
UM. This puts 2018 on a similar trajectory as 2017 where a total of 25,666 asylum
applications were received, 8,507 who were placed by unaccompanied minors.
Young refugees and YAS have the right to attend school in Sweden, and local
kommun has the responsibility to provide education under the same conditions as other
children and young people in the municipality; they should not have to wait until they
learn Swedish to enroll (Migrationsverket, 2017). Sweden is therefore ahead of some EU
member countries that have high rates of out-of-school YR and YAS. While a lack of
space is not a problem, refugee children tend to be concentrated together. That means
some are kept from studying in the same schools as native Swedish children. About 70%
of refugee children attend schools where at least half of the pupils are immigrants
(‘’Learning the hard way,’’ 2016). This partial segregation results in them less likely to
learn proper Swedish in addition to slowing their social integration process. Furthermore,
families from immigrant backgrounds tend to find housing in poor areas with lower
education standards. ‘’Ghettoization’’ is already occurring in some neighborhoods in
Stockholm, such as, where eight out of 10 residents have a foreign background
(‘’Rinkeby,’’ 2012). Rinkeby has gotten international media attention for being ‘unsafe.’
Perhaps Sweden could learn from its neighbor, Denmark, where the proportion of pupils
from migrant backgrounds in the city of Aarhus cannot exceed 20% in each school
(‘’Learning the hard way,’’ 2016). Europeans worried about their children studying
beside migrants should take comfort in statistics that show that the most important
predictor of pupils’ school results is their parents’ level of education (‘’Learning the hard
way,’’ 2016). Perhaps school integration might not be as negatively impactful as some
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might fear.
1.1.3 Non-formal Education for Refugee Youth Resettlement and the Role of
Empowerment
As visited in the previous section, the formal schooling environment for most YR and
YAS in most EU countries is insufficient. It is not always possible to pursue the call for
quality education from international humanitarian organizations through classical formal
education. This could be due to a lack of teaching quality and insufficient capacity of
local national education systems, which are coming under pressure from refugees and
internationally displaced peoples (Di Donato, 2018). In some cases, it is not even
accessible for them due to the language of instruction, transportation costs, legal status
and protection concerns, or bullying (Bergamini et al., n.d.). Full recovery and integration
is not possible without the opportunity for young migrants3 to learn alongside native
children and youths in a safe environment, and gain access to resources that address their
specific academic and social-emotional needs. Non-formal education could fill the gaps
in the areas of language acquisition, social adaptation, and emotional outlets to name
some. In other words, a balance needs to be struck between compulsory integration
education and popular education that builds on voluntary participation and strengths-
based approaches4.
Non-formal education pedagogy and educational environments are more freely
constructed since they do not require meeting many governmental standards. Non-formal
educators often use a ‘popular approach’ that involves, for example, maintaining a
cultural heritage and the creation of arenas for dialog. They do this in a democratic way
that invites a co-production of knowledge. Popular education is thought to channel the
needs and voices of the participants (Wiktorin, 2017). This gives educators the room to
design non-traditional learning projects for students once the students’ needs are
expressed. It also allows them to create an environment that builds confidence in the
young migrants, encouraging them that they too have something to contribute to the
educators, each other, and the wider society. Ideally, their improved knowledge and
developed skills are byproducts of their engagement as contributors and leaders. Other
examples of non-formal education for refugee youth include tablet-based mathematics,
literacy and numeracy activities, youth groups, peer study groups and health education
(Bergamini et al., n.d.; Triplehorn, 2001).
Empowerment as a necessary tool for refugees to move forward with their lives as
explained by the UNHCR is presented later in section 2.1: Empowerment. The
importance for empowerment specifically among young migrants, however, lies in the
opportunities it creates for them to be ‘agents of change.’ The most effectual form of
3 At times, the term ’young migrants’ will be used to describe young refugees and young asylum seekers in
one group 4 A strengths-based approach is one in which the design, implementation and assessment of experiential
learning activities are aimed to uncover the talents, and then develop and apply strengths based on those
talents, of students to achieve the highest degree of intellectual development and academic achievement
(Lopez & Louis, 2009).
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change, it could be argued, is when the movement comes from within the population
most needing that change. A sense of empowerment enables young migrants to identify
and find solutions to the problems afflicting them and their own communities, and to
promote and protect their rights. Participating in empowering activities helps to defuse
tensions by bringing youth together around shared goals, thus building more cohesive
societies through citizenship development (Solano, 2017). It could also improve their
employability and university admittance as they gain skills and take on leadership roles in
community projects.
An example of empowering, non-formal education for YR includes Playback
theatre. In their nine-week drama therapy program with immigrant and refugee
adolescents, Rouseau et al. (2007) used playback theatre to prevent emotional and
behavioral problems and to enhance school performance. They found that witnessing the
reenactment of their traumatic or hopeful stories empowered the adolescents to transform
adversity (directly, indirectly, or metaphorically), and provided them with the opportunity
to construct meaning and grieve some of the losses associated with their migration and
pre-migration experiences (Lammers, 2018). The acts of telling their stories for others to
reenact, along with the discussion afterwards, presumably practiced their language skills.
Co-creating a story where the adolescents looked for alternatives to their initial reactions
or feelings provided opportunities for them to learn cooperative learning, community
building, and self-reflection.
Many YR and YAS arrive in Europe with a poor quality education, an interrupted
education, or no education at all. Non-formal education, created and adapted to young
migrants’ individual needs, is essential to compensate the ways in which formal schools
in host countries fall short. Taking a popular education approach and including an
empowering component in the non-formal design could help young migrants identify
their needs and equip them to find their own solutions that are viable, relevant and
sustainable.
1.2 Aim, Objectives, and Research Questions
The general aim of this study is to explain and understand if and how applied theatre
pedagogy can empower young refugees and asylum seekers, and how this affects their
ability to integrate into the host society.
The following objectives and research questions will be separated into two
categories to distinguish between the aim of the project and that of the research. This is in
light of using action research, which will be described in section 4.3: Action Research in
Education.
Executing the following objectives will help to carry out the aim related to the project.
1. Understand empowerment, its theoretical roots, and the indicators used to measure
it;
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2. Conduct a case study to evaluate the potential of applied theatre as a learning tool
for empowerment and integration with young migrants
Executing the following objectives will help to carry out the aim related to the research.
3. Grasp the historical and theoretical context of the applied theatre field and how it
has been used with marginalized groups;
4. Analyze and compare the findings to published applied theatre literature
Research questions provide explicit statements of what it is the researcher wants to
know (Bryman, 2012, p. 14). Responses to these questions will be addressed in the
themes, findings and discussion of this report.
The research questions related to the project are:
1. What impact does applied theatre pedagogy have on young refugees’ and asylum
seekers’ embodiment of empowerment and sense of integration?
2. How can measuring the participants’ experiences in the applied theatre process
assist in creating sustainable vehicles for empowerment and integration in young
migrants?
The research questions related to the research are:
3. How do young refugees and asylum seekers express their feelings and needs as
forced migrants before, during and after the applied theatre process?
4. What contribution could this project make to the literature on applied theatre
pedagogy for the empowerment and integration of young migrants, and how could
it be replicated internationally?
Though the objectives and research questions (RQs) are separated to better understand
the role of the teacher and that of the researcher, there is substantial crossover of
information presented in this report that will address the objectives and RQs on both sides
concurrently.
1.3 Organization of Paper
The preceding sections introduced the reader to the refugee crisis happening in Europe
and the situation faced by YR and YAS in Sweden. It also shed light on how non-formal
education can help resettle YR in their host countries, and touched on the role of
empowerment. The general aim, objectives, and research questions were then presented.
The following chapters and sections will further explore empowerment in the
theoretical framework used in this study and the key concepts of applied theatre and
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integration. However, it first describes this study’s significance to the field of
international and comparative education, and the primary limitations (and their
delimitations) faced in this research.
After chapter 3: Key Concepts, the methodology used in this study is explained in
detail to provide transparency to the reader on how the findings were reached, and the
validity of those findings. First, an explanation for using qualitative research and the
case study method is provided. This leads to the reveal of the epistemology and ontology
behind this study. Action research in education, the main method used in this study is
then explored, followed by the study design, sampling, data collection, quality criteria,
and ethical considerations. The methodology chapter ends by recounting the analytical
procedure used.
The data analysis and findings are presented in tandem, and begin with a
description of the background codes and descriptive codes uncovered using NVivo
qualitative research software. The concepts are then described in detail, which lays the
foundation for the formation of this study’s themes. Finally, this study’s findings are
presented in three sections: empowerment, integration, and the sustainability of
empowerment and integration.
The discussion then compares this study’s findings with findings from published
literature on using applied theatre with marginalized groups, discovered during a
previously conducted literature review. This paper ends with reflections on research and
conclusions.
Nine appendices provide further detail for certain topics investigated in this paper.
1.4 Significance to International and Comparative Education
Noah & Eckstein (1998) define comparative education as an applied field that is an
intersection of the social sciences, education, and cross-national study. Bray et al. (2007)
modify this definition by claiming that comparative education need not focus on the
comparison of nations but can include other units of comparison such as theoretical
concepts, cultures, and values. This study uses pedagogy extant in formal and non-formal
arts education to reveal the feelings the participants have of their migration experience
from the Middle East to Northern Europe, and the change they want to see for themselves
and their place in society. The researcher used a comparative lens throughout the data
collection and analyzing process by considering processes of teachers and researchers
used in Europe and other parts of the world that the previously completed literature
review uncovered. The findings were then compared with the previous literature to
identify best practices and neglected areas of study. Additionally, applied theatre is an
applied field that intends to study the effect theatre can have on the participants, compare
those effects, and understand the effect those participants can then have on their
environment.
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Furthermore, Noah & Eckstein (1998) assert that comparative research needs to
‘’dig deeper under the surface of the aggregative, macro-institutional type of work’’ (p.
54). This calls for more micro-scale studies where researchers get a closer look at the
particulars of schools, classrooms, teachers, and methods (Noah & Eckstein, 1998, p. 54).
This study offers a depth of understanding of the impact that theatre pedagogy in a non-
formal educational setting can have on individual refugees and asylum seekers. Patricia
Potts (2007) maintains that ‘insofar as social research requires communication and
understanding between people of differing perspectives,’ then it is also comparative (p.
64).
The international component is intrinsic in the research since an American teacher
conducted this study in Sweden with participants from Afghanistan and Kurdistan. Many
cultural particulars, national policies, languages, values, and religions, to name a few,
were interwoven in the work. Some are discussed in this study. Additionally, the
theoretical framework involves perspectives from scholars in the U.S., Europe, Australia,
and Latin America, all examining human nature and phenomena in empowerment and
education worldwide, across time.
1.5 Limitations and Delimitations
This study contained limitations of various kinds due to the sizeable amount of data
collected and its unconventional use of action research. The limitations in conducting the
AT class and performance will be considered as they were experienced by the teacher.
Also, the limitations faced by the researcher pertaining to objectivity and the limited
amount of published AT literature that meets social science research standards will be
addressed. Some delimitations will be offered as the limitations are examined.
This teacher-researcher (TR) devised an original project because of the specific
field of study, the type of participants being studied, and the location in Stockholm,
Sweden. No discovery of other AT projects being done with young refugees or asylum
seekers at the time was made. Even if one had been found, the TR’s inability to speak
Swedish would have likely prevented her from observing and studying the process.
While not entirely delimiting, the advantages to doing a TR-initiated project were
generous. The main advantage was the frequent access to the participants’ insights into
their experiences. The teacher and the participants built a trusting relationship, which
allowed her to deeply and thoroughly observe the impact of the work on the sample.
Balancing the role of the teacher with that of the researcher was the most notable
challenge faced. Objectivity is of upmost importance as a researcher, while investing in
the students’ well being and outcomes are crucial to teaching. The TR therefore had to
decipher when it was right to teach and when it was necessary to observe, analyze, and
compare. Regarding objectivity to the data analysis, Nvivo was used to organize and
systematize the TR’s observation of the concepts and themes that emerged. This allowed
her to better see holes in the project planning and inconsistencies among the participants’
observations and reflections.
17
Power relations are crucial to consider when the researcher is also the teacher.
The aim of this study was to empower the participants, but a teacher’s position of power
is often assumed. Particularly considering the Middle Eastern backgrounds of the
students, sharing power with the teacher was not something they were accustomed to.
This made being the ‘’objective researcher’’ messy and touched on some ethical
considerations related to conducting a democratic process (further discussed in section
4.8: Ethical Considerations). Some of the power issue was addressed by the commitment
to reflexivity that was embedded within this research. An awareness of the political,
social, and cultural position of the researcher in relation to her students was maintained.
Moreover, the TR used an ‘empowerment approach,’ which Carrasco et al. (2016)
explains as one in which the ‘’facilitator becomes a collaborator rather than an expert: he
or she works with instead of advocating for the participants’’ (pp. 240-241).
Another limitation was the lack of a shared fluent language between the TR and
the participants. The TR was from the United States while the participants hailed from
Afghanistan and Kurdistan. This was delimited in part by having a strong English speaker
from both Afghanistan and Kurdistan that were willing and able to translate for other
participants with weaker English. Additionally, the TR had substantial previous
experience teaching theatre to non-native English speakers, so she could remain mindful
about her pace and word choice, and use of non-verbal forms of communication. Lastly,
the TR had taught English to half of the sample previously, so she had knowledge of their
English levels before the start of the project and could plan her lessons accordingly.
Time was a limitation. A total of 30 hours was originally designated to the class.
However, once the group decided to perform an original play, an additional 20 hours was
added. This left the TR with limited time to start writing the report. Also, the final
interviews could not be conducted until six weeks before the thesis due date, leaving
limited time to analyze the entire data corpus. However, initial coding of the first round
of interviews as well as an ongoing cross-comparison of participation notes, teacher
reflections, and student reflections was executed during the project and before the second
interview round. The use of Nvivo helped speed up the later stages of coding since the
TR learned to use the software when coding the first round of interviews.
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2 Theoretical Framework
The following theoretical framework is presented in two phases. It develops the concept
of empowerment based on Empowerment Theory, born out of Paolo Freire’s
Empowering Education. It then discusses Paolo Freire and his colleague, Augusto Boal,
and their theories for liberating the oppressed.
2.1 Empowerment
Research conducted by the UNHCR shows that empowerment is a key ingredient in the
recovery of forcibly displaced people, and assists them in shaping their desired self image
and hopes for their future (UNHCR, 2001). Empowerment is defined as ‘’a process
through which women and men in disadvantaged positions increase their awareness to
knowledge, resources, and decision-making power, and raise their awareness of
participation in their communities, in order to reach a level of control over their
environment’’ (UNHCR, 2001, p. 3). Whereas disempowerment is described as
processes, programs, policy development or actions that ignore the priorities, needs, and
interests of people, reducing their decision-making power and presenting obstacles to
their economic, social, and political improvement (UNHCR, 2001, p. 3). The UNHCR’s
practical guide to empowerment identifies four dimensions of (women’s) empowerment:
(1) access to resources, (2) conscientization (self-awareness with respect to their rights),
(3) mobilization (discussing common problems and forming organizations and networks),
and (4) control (UNHCR, 2001, pp. 5-6). Control is explained as having influence over
the events that shape their lives and that of their environment, and feeling empowered to
participate in decision-making (UNHCR, 2001, p. 7).
The empowerment concept in this study is explored using Empowerment Theory
(ET), taken from community psychology with its origins in Paolo Freire’s writings on the
oppressiveness of educational methods and institutions of the time. Additionally,
concepts from the fields of psychology, sociology, education and social action play key
roles in advancing this study. Psychologically informed theories are used to understand
what motivates young people while sociological ideas address the way in which society
accepts or rejects them. Educational and social action theories are discussed further in the
next sections, Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed.
American community psychologist, Julian Rappaport, conceived of ET in 1977,
and his colleague, Marc Zimmerman, further developed it in the 1980s and 90s. Since
then, the term empowerment has become widely used in the social sciences as well as in
social work, politics, and women’s studies, thus making it multidimensional (Carrasco et
al., 2015; Hur, 2006). Yet, it does not have an established definition5. Empowerment is
considered a social process since it occurs in relationship to others (Hur, 2006; Page &
Czuba, 1999). It stems from the concept of power, traditionally understood as an isolated
entity and one that can influence and coerce others. Power is often viewed as zero-sum
5 Zimmerman (1984) states that giving empowerment a single definition could make attempts to achieve it
prescription-like or formulaic, which contradicts the intention of empowerment.
19
where there is a fixed amount and no one can gain power unless those that possess it
relinquish it (Carrasco, et al., 2015; Hur, 2006; Page & Czuba, 1999). Empowerment, on
the other hand, is changing and shared. It is a form of shared power defined by Page &
Cazumba (1999) as a ‘’multidimensional social process that helps people gain control
over their lives’’ (p. 25). Some Latin American community psychologists argue that
empowerment should be translated to fortalecimiento or ‘strengthening’ rather than its
literal translations of empoderamiento (’give power or enable’) or apoderamiento, which
implies taking power from others to challenge existing hierarchies (Carrasco et al., 2015,
p. 233). In the broadest sense, empowerment is the expansion of freedom of choice and
action; it is context and population specific, and takes different forms for different people
in different sociocultural and politics contexts (Carrasco et al., 2015).
This study focuses on two of the three levels of ET specified by Zimmerman
(2000): individual and community (excluding organizational empowerment). The
individual or ‘personal’ level attempts to observe the changes, if any, of the participants’
sense of themselves throughout and upon completing the project. The community or
‘collective’ level examines what occurred within the group, and what actions were set in
motion that might result in liberation. One definition of personal empowerment is the
way people think about themselves, as well as their capacities, skills, knowledge, and
mastery (Hur, 2015; Staples, 1990) to overcome their intellectual and psychological
obstacles and attain self-sufficiency and decision-making abilities (Becker et al., 2004).
Collective empowerment could be understood as a process by which people join together
to break their silence and solitude, help each other, learn together, and join in action to
overcome obstacles and attain social change (Boehm & Staples, 2004; Fetterson, 2002;
Hur, 2015; Staples, 1990). According to Page & Czuba (1999), an important implication
of the definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally
connected. They indicate that individual change is a prerequisite for or ‘becomes a bridge
to’ community connectedness and social change. This synthesis facilitates our
understanding of the empowerment process.
In his literature review covering empowerment processes across disciplines, Hur
(2015) identifies Freire as the founding father of empowerment in education. According
to Freire, the marginalized can become empowered by learning about social inequality
(i.e. conscientizing), inspiring each other to feel confident that they can overcome
oppression, and finally obtaining liberation (Freire, 1973a; Hur, 2015). In community
psychology, the process involves two steps, namely relationship building and community
building (Hur, 2015). After reviewing empowerment across all chosen disciplines
(political science, social welfare and social work, education, health studies, management,
and community psychology), Hur (2015) amalgamated the empowerment process into
five progressive stages: (1) oppression, (2) conscientizing, (3) mobilizing, (4)
maximizing, and (5) creating a new order (see Figure C).
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Figure C. The Individual and Collective Empowerment Process (Hur, 2015, p. 536)
Here it is visible how the components of individual and collective empowerment can
work together to facilitate the process of achieving empowerment. It begins with the
identification of a social disturbance that leads to those oppressed becoming aware of the
existing inequalities and the potential to change the circumstances. They then mobilize by
starting movements and inviting others (oppressed and non-oppressed) to join. At this
point, empowerment sees individuals being assertive and taking more aggressive action
(Hur, 2015, p. 529). At the fourth stage, sharing power with the populace maximizes
empowerment. Maximization is identified by a greater number of people joining the
cause, increasing the ‘shared power.’ Finally, social oppression is overcome and social
justice is achieved.
It is not only vital to discuss the processes of empowerment, but also the
outcomes. Outcomes are more often emphasized when evaluating the achievement of
individual and community empowerment while processes help us to understand the
reasons for that growth or lack thereof. Perkins & Zimmerman (1995) insist that drawing
a distinction between processes and outcomes is critical to clearly defining empowerment
theory. Empowering processes for individuals might involve their participation in
projects or community organizations while empowering processes for communities might
include collective action to access government and other community resources (e.g.
media) (Perkins & Zimmerman, 1995, p. 570). Whereas empowering outcomes for
individuals might involve situation-specific perceived control and resource mobilization
skills; empowering outcomes on the community level might incorporate evidence of
pluralism6, and existence of organizational coalitions, and accessible community
resources (Perkins & Zimmerman, 1995, p. 570). Terms that appear repeatedly
throughout the literature that indicate themes and, in some cases, outcomes of individual
empowerment include competence, critical-awareness, self-determination, self-esteem,
participation, motivation, locus of control, and mastery. Expressions associated with
6 Pluralism is a society where individuals, groups and communities can function with multiple languages
and cultural styles; where individuals and groups can tolerate different customs, religions, class and sexual
lifestyles and no one way of life is preferred over another (Pantoja et al., 1979).
21
community or collective empowerment include collective belonging, community building,
involvement in the community, and control over organizations in the community, to name
some.
The challenge with applying ET to research is its lack of agreed-upon definition.
This could appear either as a difficulty to identify empowerment when it arises or
labeling something as empowerment when it is not. According to Rappaport and
Zimmerman, identifying empowerment outcomes requires that the participants’ definition
of it is understood at the onset of the study (Lammers, 2017). The concept of
empowerment is constructed by the participants in each case; its meaning is contextual,
and it is only achieved when that meaning is clearly manifested in the individuals’
feelings and behaviors and in the actions taken by the group. Once an understanding of
empowerment within the population-specific context is decided, researchers must
determine outcomes, or indicators, that help them to measure the results. A fresh set of
indicators must be developed for each research project, and must involve the participants’
input (Zimmerman, 2000). Examples of processes and their outcomes that might be used
in an empowerment project are presented in Table 1: Empowering processes and
empowered outcomes across levels of analysis.
Levels of analysis Process (‘’empowering’’)
Outcome (‘’empowered’’)
Individual Learning decision-making
skills
Sense of control
Managing resources Critical awareness
Working with others Participatory behaviors
Participation in activities Analytical skills
Community Access to resources Organizational coalitions
Open government
structure
Pluralistic leadership
Tolerance for diversity Residents’ participatory
skills Table 1. Empowering Processes and Empowered Outcomes Across Levels of Analysis (adapted
from: Zimmerman, 2000, p. 47)
Empowerment theory suggests that people need opportunities to become active
decision-makers in their communities to mobilize for social change. It proposes that
individual empowerment is necessary for collective empowerment and, to some extent,
visa versa. For one rarely feels empowered when she is alone. Similarly, empowering
processes can lead to empowered outcomes, which can ignite new processes. The
distinction between individual and collective empowerment and their processes and
outcomes need to be understood clearly by the researcher(s) before the data collection
can begin. This understanding comes from the participants’ grasp of the empowerment
concept, and unique indicators must be constructed around their understanding. These
indicators then help evaluate the outcomes.
Earlier, Brazilian educator and revolutionary, Paolo Freire, was declared the
22
father of empowerment in education. The next section will discuss his theories of
education for social change and ‘empowering education.’
2.2 Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Education should have as one of its main tasks to invite people to believe in
themselves. It should invite people to believe they have the knowledge.
(Freire, 1973)
At the heart of his work, Freire asks the question, who does education serve and for
what purpose? He criticizes institutions for educating in a way that preserves power
structures and perpetuates class differences. He is particularly critical of the teacher-
student relationship, inside and outside of schools, as one that is fundamentally
‘narrative.’ Meaning, the relationship involves a narrating Subject who inculcates the
Object with ‘’motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable’’ narratives about
reality (Freire, 1972, p. 21). Freire’s metaphor of banking education is widely used in
literature on education reform and social change to condemn the top-down, fixed transfer
of knowledge from teacher to student. He writes, ‘’Education thus becomes an act of
depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor.
Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the
students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat’’ (Freire, 1972, p. 21). Freire supposes
that this approach to education causes youth to feel alienated, meek, and powerless.
Rather than preparing young people to be conscientious, confident, active citizens of
democracy, it projects onto them an absolute ignorance, a characteristic of the ideology
of oppression (Freire, 1972).
Freire often denied that he had a theory or model (Mohajer & Earnest, 2009). He
referred to his work as ‘a pedagogy that used the power generated from knowledge to
bring about social or cultural action’ (Mohajer & Earnest, 2009, p. 426). The Freirean
classroom invites students to reflect, to think critically about the ‘’reality’’7 that exists
around them and identify what they would like to change. Freirean methods in education
empower students to see themselves as having equal humanity to those instructing them,
and to value what they have to teach as much as what they are there to learn. This makes
learning a dialog. Freire’s methods question learning content at large, unveiling the
oppressive indoctrination woven into curricula, and encourage students to take charge of
their learning process by pursuing what they desire to know. It also encourages learners
to question existing knowledge as a means to forming habits as active citizens of
democracy. It calls on both teachers and students to advance democracy and equality by
empowering themselves for social change as they advance their literacy and knowledge
(Leonard & McLaren, Eds., 1993, p. 24). So, how is empowering education executed?
Freire’s Empowering Education is a problem-posing process rather than a problem
solving one (Leonard & McLaren, Eds., 1993; Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988), bearing in
mind that there are various solutions to a problem. It recognizes that time is needed to
7 ’’Reality’’ is in quotations because Freire believed that individuals and society were constructed concepts,
making reality a subjective experience (Freire, 1973).
23
form workable solutions, and for individuals and their community to change.
Empowering education (EE), sometimes referred to as ‘liberating education,’
involves three steps that begin with listening. The facilitator must first listen to the
students to understand the issues or themes in the community. To Freire, listening is a
continual process that extends beyond initial needs assessment (Wallerstein & Bernstein,
1988, p. 383). This increases the probability that participants remain active in the process
beyond the initial stage.
Next, EE engages the participants in a dialog about the described issues using a
problem-posing method. This is where the teacher asks thought-provoking questions and
encourages the students to formulate their own questions. This way, students learn to
question answers not only answer questions (Leonard & McLaren, Eds., 1993). This
presupposes equality among the participants and the teacher, and requires everyone to
question what he or she knows. In doing so, they realize that through dialog, existing
thoughts will change and new knowledge will be created (Freire Institute, 2018).
The method starts with coding, which Freire describes as a physical representation
of the issue (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988, p. 383). This can include role-play, slides,
photographs, stories or songs. Generating ‘’codes’’ has the potential to create discussion
objects to structure problem-posing dialog about the issues. An effective code is one that
is familiar to participants, is many-sided, and is open-ended without solutions
(Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988). It is the facilitator’s responsibility to promote group
leadership by encouraging them to think critically about these codes. To do this, he or she
can follow a five-step questioning strategy that moves discussion from the personal to the
social analysis and forthcoming action level (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988, p. 383).
Participants are asked to:
1. describe what they see and feel
2. define the levels of the problem as a group
3. share similar experiences from their lives
4. question why this problem exists
5. develop action plans to address the problem
This questioning process serves as a mirror to the participants, reflecting their realities
back to them.
The third stage of action emerges directly from the problem posing discussion. It
involves testing out their analyses in the real world and reflecting on the results. This
gives the reflections a deeper base gained from the input of their experiences.
Experimenting with the possible solutions discussed in the dialog phase and then
reflecting on the results that manifest helps the participants to find better solutions. Freire
calls this an ‘action-reflection-action’ cycle (Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988, p. 383).
As outlined above, EE’s emphasis is placed on praxis, which requires
participation and dialog, horizontal relations between educator and students, a problem-
24
posing method, and the learner’s culture constituting the basis of their own learning
(Mayo, 1993, p. 2). Freire proposed that social transformation could occur when
investing in this theory and following this method.
Empowering Education was originally devised to be carried out in non-formal
educational settings (Mayo, 1993). One can assume this was because formal institutions
were not open to such a radical change in education pedagogy at the time. However, the
Brazilian government supported him to start thousands of cultural circles around the
country in 1962 after achieving success with the empowerment of illiterate peasants. This
came to a sudden halt when he was forced into exile after a military coup in 1964
(Mohajer & Earnest, 2009, p. 426).
In conclusion, considerable literature has been published on the outcomes of
Empowering Education. The participant-centered approach encourages youths to take
responsibility for their participation and to think critically about how they can contribute
to strategies for change. Empowering Education promotes active learning on the
emotional, behavioral, and cognitive levels. It develops agency among the individual
participants, and helps them develop strategies to achieve their goals (Wallerstein &
Bernstein, 1988). Lastly, it fosters community building, providing them a safe space
away from schools to join together and take action.
The next section will introduce Augusto Boal’s theory, Theatre of the Oppressed,
which transfers Freire’s educational models into theatrical ones.
2.3 Theatre of the Oppressed
Most relevant to this study, Augusto Boal, theatre teacher, theorist, political activist and
colleague of Paolo Freire, published Theatre of the Oppressed in Brazil in 1974. Theatre
of the Oppressed (TO) is a methodology bolstered by an ethos of liberation,
empowerment, and social change for the oppressed by the oppressed (Lammers, 2018).
Theatre of the oppressed was inspired by the Greek comic poet, Aristophanes (c. 450
BCE-c. 388 BCE) who wrote, “the dramatist should not only offer pleasure but should,
besides that, be a teacher of morality and a political adviser” (Boal, 1985, p. xiii). Boal
believed that theatre could play a critical role in facilitating Freire’s vision of inspiring
oppressed people to come together, examine society’s inequality, and design action for
change.
Those who attend live theatre know what to expect. The entertainers memorize
their lines and cues, and perform them for the spectators who sit quietly and hope to
enjoy the performance. Boal called this ‘’spectacle theatre,’’ one in which the spectator is
voiceless and forced to digest what the players perform for them. This actor-spectator
relationship directly mirrors that of the traditional teacher-student denounced by Freire.
Theatre of the oppressed challenges this archaic structure by suggesting that the audience
violate the ‘bourgeois code of manners.’ They do this by asking questions, making
suggestions, and challenging what they see on stage (Boal, 1985, p. 142). Theatre of the
25
oppressed breaks down the theatre’s ‘’fourth wall8’’ and invites the audience to
participate in the action on stage, making them ‘’spect-actors.’’ In a theatre where there
are actors and spect-actors, all are participants.
This revolutionary method allowed the theatre to take on a new usefulness by
generating discussion and rehearsing action towards real social change (Prendergast &
Saxton, 2016). Forum Theatre (FT) is the most common TO technique used to facilitate
this dialog and experimentation phase of theatre creation. Forum Theatre experiments
with acting out solutions to problems that exist in the lives of the participants. In their
study on theatre as liberation for asylum seekers, Horghagen & Josephsson (2011) state
that, ‘’Participatory theatre techniques (…) give possibilities to observe people’s doings
and enacted experiences and how they construct meaning during a situated approach to
their cultural worlds’’ (p. 175). The key concept here is meaning making. Forum Theatre
immerses the spect-actors in depicted scenarios of conflict or inequality, and encourages
them to step into a role to explore solutions. It gives permission to participants to
construct meaning, thereby assigning importance around their feelings of oppression and
desire for change.
Providing an example of FT might help clarify the process. A young man works
in a fish factory and his boss forces him and his fellow workers to work for twelve
consecutive hours. The problem is thus how to combat the human exploitation. The man
suggests filling the machine with so much fish that it breaks, giving the workers time to
rest while the machine is fixed. The scene is performed with actors playing the workers,
another playing the boss, another the foreman, and lastly, an actor portraying the ‘stool
pigeon’ (for there is never good reason to withhold some humor). While they ‘’work,’’
the characters discuss the problem, how they feel, and potential solutions until they agree
to go with the plan to overload the machine. The workers rest while the machine is fixed,
and then they go back to work. After the scene is finished, the actors and spect-actors
discuss if this is a good and sustainable solution. The answer is ‘no’ so other solutions are
proposed: someone could plant a bomb and explode the factory, they could stage a strike,
or they could form a union. The scene was performed again testing the bomb solution.
However, the spect-actor that suggested the solution and therefore played the worker with
the bomb did not know how to make or plant a bomb, and realized they would all be out
of work once the factory was destroyed. Thus, the solution was abandoned. They then
agreed to act out forming a union. This was collectively judged as the best solution to the
problem (Boal, 1985, pp. 139-141).
In FT, no idea is imposed. Any spect-actor can propose and carry out a potential
solution through an improvised scene. This stage follows the discussion stage explained
above, and is referred to by Boal as praxis. The notion of praxis lies in the process of
action that emanates from ongoing discussion-reflection dialectic (Prendergast & Saxton,
2016). The intention of FT is to provide a space not only for discussion and reflection but
also as a tryout for real action contributing to change (Prendergast & Saxton, 2016, p.
8 The ’’fourth wall’’ in theatrical terms is the invisible wall between the actors and the audience that seals
the imaginary world of the play. This ‘’wall’’ is broken when the actors address the audience directly,
which is not common in most stage plays.
26
104). Boal states plainly that it is not the place of the theatre to show the correct path.
Rather, it can offer a platform by which all possible paths can be explored (Boal, 1985, p.
141). He states, ‘‘within its fictitious limits, the experience is a concrete one’’ (Boal,
1985, p. 141).
Boal continuously adapted his practice for different settings and purposes. In the
1970s, TO was used to address overt political oppressions in Brazil, and then for teaching
literacy and Spanish as a second language in poor areas of Peru (Boal, 1985, p. 120). In
the 1980s, after he was exiled to Argentina (and later self-exiled to Europe) for his work
as a cultural and political activist, Boal adapted his pedagogy to address more internal
psychological oppression seen in the developed world. When he returned to Brazil as an
elected official in 1992, he became interested in using his methods to enroll citizens to
create new laws through a democratic and dramatic process. Applied Theatre was born
out of TO and now has several practices and applications of its own. Applied Theatre is
explained in the next chapter, Key Concepts.
Finally, TO targets the second stage of Paolo Freire’s EE method: the dialog
stage. It uses the participants to create physical images and enact social inequalities
through improvisation and others forms of theatrical expression such as pantomime
(wordless depiction of events) and role-play. These exercises spark a dialog among the
participants by helping them to see their personal situations related to societal
establishments. Engaging in theatre as a hypothetical version of reality also helps
participants experiment with action-based solutions. Boal’s intention was to create a
theatre technique that empowers participants to act out in the real world what they’ve
rehearsed in the safe rehearsal space. It is designed to plant a ‘’sort of uneasy sense of
incompleteness that seeks fulfillment through real action” (Boal, 1985, p. 142).
27
3 Key Concepts
While the previous section laid an abstract foundation, the following two key concepts
were chosen to give the reader context regarding the education method used in this
process, and to discuss a social need for doing this study. The Theoretical Framework
supported the interpretivist epistemology while the Key Concepts pertain to the empirical
evidence. Because of this, applied theatre and integration are discussed practically,
focusing on their history and best methods for implementation, to provide context for this
study’s results.
3.1 Applied Theatre
Applied Theatre (AT) is a pedagogical and aesthetic technique used to explore issues
relevant to marginalized groups within a socio-political context, and usually takes place
outside of mainstream theatres (Lammers, 2018). It is considered a democratic form of
theatre practice that provides a safe space for vulnerable participants to share narratives,
fictional or factual, that illuminate their lived experiences whether or not they have done
theatre before. Applied theatre is a method that focuses on multiple perspectives, explores
feelings, examines issues of local importance, experiments with outcomes, and involves
the audience as active participants in the creation of understanding and action.
Applied Theatre gained recognition as an academic discipline in the 1980s and
90s in response to the harsh funding climate and post-cold-war impact of postmodernism.
It was born out of a desire to take ‘theatre to the people,’ but its idealism was tempered
with a pragmatic search for financial support in non-arts sectors (Thompson, 2003). After
the turn of the century, AT became firmly established in the higher education sector with
the term applying to university courses, centers for research in the UK and Australia, and
modules in universities from North America to Sri Lanka (Thompson, 2003, p. 13). The
term ‘applied’ allows AT to share a commonality with other applied disciplines in that it
is a discipline that is taken out of the university building and activated in the real world. It
joins other applied fields to transform the abstract into something practiced or worked; it
transfers theory into action. ‘Applied theatre’ and ‘applied drama’ are terms used
interchangeably, but Prendergast & Saxton (2016) distinguish applied drama as focusing
solely on the process without culminating in a performance. Theatre stems from the
Greek word, theatron, which indicates the seating area in ancient Greek theatres. Applied
theatre, according to some, requires a public or semi-public performance to meet the
expectations drawn from the term (Prendergast & Saxton, 2016). This research will
therefore use the term, ‘applied theatre.’
Applied theatre is an umbrella term for a participatory arts technique that targets
community reflection and social change, and incites audience involvement to help create
that change through dialog and action. It happens all over the world as part of a grass
roots arts-based movement, and stems from the most social of art forms (Prendergrast &
Saxton, 2016). While cultural contexts are different, AT is a technique that when
documented and published, can be replicated in various international settings (Lammers,
28
2018). It provides alternative ways of exploring feelings, personal challenges, or social-
political crises using storytelling, role-playing, or physical (e.g. dance) or musical
expression, as examples. Nonetheless, AT has no exact definition or set standards for
practice. It is a malleable term that can be used to describe any theatre project used to
assist the participants in achieving personal transformation or social justice/change. It
might therefore be more informative to discuss what AT is for and for whom rather than
what it is.
In AT, the emphasis is on the participants and how they might benefit from the
process. Participants range from oppressed women to students to racially or ethnically
discriminated peoples to those from low socio-economic backgrounds, or patients
suffering from trauma or poor health. Applied theatre projects commonly take place in
schools, therapeutic environments, prisons, refugee camps, third world countries, and
non-formal educational settings (e.g. community centers). Practitioners act as change
agents to empower participants to ‘lay new tracks,’ helping them to abandon
institutionalized beliefs that keep them feeling fixed in their societal positions. In other
words, practitioners oftentimes act with intention to disrupt dominant social narratives
where drama becomes the place to explore ethical gaps (Nicholson, 2005, pp. 63-64).
One of the ethical gaps commonly explored in AT are traditional power
dynamics. Investigating these dynamics attempts to empower the participants by
challenging the status quo. This ability stems from the theatre’s history of challenging
traditional power structures and providing a safe platform in the guise of fiction for
playwrights and actors to express their frustrations with each other and their audiences.
The servant figure in historical drama, for example, often had more power in the world of
the play than his or her master. Sometimes that knowledge (or false knowledge) was
enough to destroy the powerful lead figures such as with Othello and his jealous
standard-bearer, Iago, who drove Othello to murder his loyal wife; or Balthasar, Romeo’s
servant who falsely informed Romeo that Juliet had died, causing Romeo to commit
suicide.
In summary, AT projects most often take place in indoor and outdoor spaces not
usually defined as theatres, with participants who may or may not be skilled or
experienced but want to explore a personal or social issue, and to audiences who have a
vested interested in the subject matter or are members of the community at which the
performance is directed (Lammers, 2018). Applied theatre methods challenge dominant
social and political narratives about power or societal roles. It can create pathways for
change for those who feel oppressed, marginalized, or want to grow, heal, or explore new
possibilities for themselves and their people.
3.2 Integration
This study focuses on the educational aspects of AT and their potential to empower the
participants, and the additional possibilities it has to prepare YR and YAS for integration
into society. Also, this work hopes to propose solutions to host societies of good
integration practices, or at the very least, help them to identify areas for improvement.
29
While the integration of refugees can be discussed on larger levels such as law and
policy, this section will focus on integration related to community programs and national
opinion with some mention of policies. This researcher believes that the big, global
refugee crisis is best treated with small, local solutions.
Difficulties for forced migrants do not end when they arrive in a safe place. They
must heal and adapt to the culture where they land, which is non-linear (Marshall et al.,
2016) and can be described as a ‘’slow and complex process of social integration’’
(Essomba, 2017, p. 207). On the ground level, this process requires participation from
both the migrants and the nationals, supported by programs from governments, private
organizations, or multilateral agencies. However, Europe has encountered challenges in
this regard.
Already in 1995, Miles and Thränhardt cautioned that European sentiments
towards migrants were becoming increasingly resistant.
Right-wing political forces in most west European states have seized on the issue
to promote xenophobic nationalism and to stir up social unrest, and established
political formations (especially Christian Democrats and Social Democrats) are
unable to formulate a coherent liberal response to the emerging crisis. Asylum-
seekers and migrants find themselves trapped in the whirlpool of an
inclusion/exclusion dialectic. (p. 15)
The above text dating back 23 years foreshadowed what could be happening now as the
migrant crisis is becoming larger. The Social Democrats have the majority in the Swedish
party system today, but recent polls show that the Swedish Democrats, the ‘’anti-
immigration party,’’ has become the second most popular since the 2015 immigration
crisis (up nearly 13% since the 2014 election) (Roden, 2017b). One proposed reason for
this could be the Social Democrats’ unwillingness to address immigration more
forcefully (Schmidtke, 2016), resulting in voters wanting a change in leadership. This
places immigrants in Sweden in a precarious position.
Since 2014, the process of accepting refugees in EU countries has become inefficient
or ineffective possibly because of the sudden arrival of a multitude of refugees as well as
an inconsistent integration system. Essomba (2017) claims that Member States use
national sovereignty arguments to interpret EU policy on refugees to align more with the
national interests than a common European model (p. 207). For example, Ireland and the
UK choose, on a case-by-case basis, whether to apply EU rules on visa and asylum
policies while Denmark does not adopt (opt-out) EU-wide rules that relate to immigration
(Essomba, 2017, p. 207). He further states that while Nordic countries are relatively
experienced in managing migration flows9, public opinion tends to disapprove of
accepting these new residents (Essomba, 2017, p. 209).
9 In 2013, Sweden accepted more refugees per capita than any other member country in the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (Arnett, G., 2014). Additionally, Migrationsverket (2018d)
has been accepting refugees since the 1980s.
30
Successful integration is not only important for refugees’ recovery and well being,
but also for the host society’s ability to accept them as citizens. A study conducted jointly
by the European Social Survey and the Migration Policy Group, published by the
European Parliament (EP) last year, show that native citizens are more willing to accept
new arrivals if they offer skills that can contribute to a country’s workforce or if they
have higher levels of education. Figure D shows the percentage of the population in 21 of
28 EU member countries that believe it is very important that immigrants have work
skills needed in the country (blue bars); the orange bars show the percentage of the
population that believe it is very important that immigrants have good educational
qualifications. Perhaps having these qualities indicates to native-born citizens that they
are ‘’legitimate’’ refugees as opposed to economic migrants. Around 25% of the polled
population favors migrants with work skills in Sweden. Around the same percentage
prefer migrants with education qualifications. This can be interpreted in two ways. Either
they accept migrants regardless of their relevant skills or education, or 75% of the
population polled don’t approve of migrants at all.
Studies show that countries with more inclusive policies of integration have a
lower rate of immigration intolerance.10 For example, if Sweden were to focus more on
integrating its newcomers into the labor market, it could improve its economic growth
(Roden, 2017) and view immigrants as a benefit to the society. Economic growth occurs
when the population of working age people is high; when the proportion of children and
retirees increases, growth declines. A study done at Stockholm University showed that
with net immigration rising to 50,000 per year since 2000, Sweden’s age structure has
changed. The bulk of immigrants are between the ages of 15 and thirty-nine. With
Sweden’s declining birth rate, a trend that emerged in the 1990s, immigration could make
up for this lack of working-age population (Malmberg, et al., 2016, p. ix). In its
conclusion, the study states that there is no reason to see increased spending on
immigration as a long-term threat to Sweden’s economy. Instead, increased spending
could give civil society organizations and public institutions the opportunity to recognize
and develop refugees’ skills and capacities.
10 Migrant Integration Policy Index; European Values Study; Eurobarometer; International Civic and
Citizenship Education Study; International Social Survey Programme (European Parliament, 2017)
31
Figure D: Percentage of Population of EU Countries that Favor Migrants with Work Skills
and Educational Qualifications (Dennison, 2017)
Migrants without relevant skills or education have a higher hill to climb. They
must find their way into the work force, likely in manual labor or low-paying jobs, and
this begins with learning the host country’s language. In 2015, FutureLab Europe
released a study investigating practices in four EU member states (Finland, Spain,
Germany, and Romania) through the European Integration Fund. It included 125
questionnaires completed by migrants who took part in EIF funded programs. Migrants
stressed that language is the most important factor for integration and called for higher
involvement of local NGOs and host societies (Bačinskiené & Garbauskaite-Jakimovska,
2016, p. 10).
Language acquisition is also crucial for school-aged refugees. Their starting point
for language learning and social integration is inarguably enrollment in school. Schools
can provide a safe place for young migrants, particularly unaccompanied minors, to
reconcile their own culture with that of the host community (Woods, 2009). They do this
by fostering reconciliation and resilience following upheaval, and supporting refugee
youth and their families through linguistic support, among other things (Marshall et al.,
2016). However, Essomba (2017) argues that refugee children’s and youngster’s rights to
education are being threatened and even violated in Europe. This could be due to factors
including demographic, psychological, economic, legal, and sociological that impede the
process of getting young refugees in schools and learning in a way that allow them to
excel (Essomba, 2017). For instance, refugee children in compulsory education need
schooling with a strong emotional component, which many schools and teachers in host
countries are not equipped to support. Also, since many families leave their home
32
countries suddenly due to violence or war, they do not bring with them identity
documents, which are required to legally enroll in school.
There is therefore a need for host societies to mind the welfare of refugee students
when designing their schooling strategies for integration. This begins with diversifying
schools, and not isolating refugee youth to learn separately. The ‘’humanist approach’’ to
schooling could attend to the needs of a culturally diverse student population by
instituting reciprocal learning (Woods, 2009). This would mean balancing the provision
of basic literacy and language of refugee students with an opportunity for students not in
refugee status to learn about the culture, history and experiences of the marginalized
groups. Arts activities are one way to do this since they involve elements that transcend a
need for common culture and language such as music, painting, drawing, dance or theatre
(Marshall et al., 2016). For refugee youth, the transformative potential of using arts-based
activities lie in their accessibility, their expressive potential, their ability to circumvent
the language and cultural barriers they experience in their host societies, and the
opportunity for them to share their culture, traditions, or hardships (Marshall et al., 2016).
This could incite acknowledgement, empathy, and respect from members of the host
society, particularly their peers not in refugee status.
Paolo Freire too has something to say about integration. He writes that,
‘’Integration results from the capacity to adapt oneself to the reality plus the critical
capacity to make choices and to transform that reality’’ (Freire, 1973, p. 4, italics in
original). Freire implies that authentic integration requires new members to feel
empowered to transform the reality they have become a part of. This stems from his
observation that the ‘normal’ role of human beings is not a passive one since man is not
bound by biology. Instead, man is conscious and creative, and can intervene in reality to
change it (Freire, 1973, p. 4). But is this change welcomed? When the demographics of a
population shift suddenly to include people of different ethnicities, religions, and cultural
backgrounds, initial resistance is expected and, to some extent, understandable. However,
according to Freire, the host society has no choice but to redefine its ethnic, religious, and
cultural identity to be more diverse and inclusive. The alternative is a society involving
prejudice and conflict.
Migrants face many challenges for integration into European societies. Ways for
them to overcome these challenges include learning the country’s language, customs, and
societal expectations, enrolling in school, and continuing their education or entering the
work force, the last two being highly valued by societies in the European Union.
Meanwhile, ways that host countries can help nationals to accept refugees and promote
access to opportunities for them include implementing integration policies that promote
tolerance, prioritizing language acquisition for refugee youth in a diverse school setting,
supporting arts-based or other educational and community-building opportunities for
migrants and nationals to exchange knowledge and experiences, and by valuing migrants’
contribution to the work force. Integration requires the host society to be willing to
redefine its identity to include a more diverse population. Successful integration of
refugees requires the involvement of everyone in a society, and like other forms of social
change, it takes time.
33
4 Methodology
Perhaps uniquely, this is more than a thesis project. Due to the researcher’s desire to help
create educational opportunities for all youth to succeed, this project extended beyond the
research realm and drew attention to an issue of local importance. Yet, while this was a
community service project with YR and YAS, the process of design, data collection, and
data analysis meets the standards of master’s level social science research. This
qualitative case study used action research to collect, observe, analyze and present the
data in a systematic way. Action research was the only viable research methodology
because it allowed the TR to facilitate the project and study it, and it supported the
research’s purpose to create change through action and reflection.
One of the greatest difficulties encountered while designing this project was
finding peer-reviewed case studies using AT specifically for refugee empowerment and
integration. While there exists many published case studies in the field of applied theater,
some with young refugees, few of them take the rigorous approach required in social
science. Therefore, to design this research project a careful study of the action research
method was combined with the TR’s creativity and skills honed in teaching theatre in
education. The study design and methodology used is presented in this chapter to provide
context and transparency.
4.1 Qualitative Research and the Case Study Method
According to Bryman (2012), qualitative research ‘’embodies a view of social reality as a
constantly shifting emergent property of individuals’ creation’’ (p. 36). This means that
social properties are outcomes of the interactions between people rather than existing
phenomena that apply to every group. The qualitative research approach was selected
since its flexibility of design and interactivity were appropriate for capturing the young
participants’ opinions of the process and feelings about themselves and their place in
society. Furthermore, qualitative research provides the framework to analyze the impact
of this unique approach to investigating empowerment among YR and young asylum
seekers.
Proponents of quantitative methods frequently criticize qualitative research.
Quantitative research is a deductive analytical process that involves a linear movement
from theory to conclusions whereas the qualitative approach, which uses inductive
reasoning, begins in a more open-ended way and gradually narrows down the research
questions or problems (Bryman, 2012). However, using the qualitative approach in this
study allowed the project design to accommodate and adapt to the participants’ struggles,
talents, visions, and goals, which permitted unexpected themes to emerge. Action
research, the type of qualitative research used in this study will be described in section
4.3: Action Research in Education.
Case study design is concerned with the complexity and particular nature of the
case in question (Stake, 1995 in Bryman, 2012, p. 66). Conducting a case study was most
34
appropriate for this research because it allowed for an intensive analysis of the effect that
a specific educational pedagogy could have on a marginalized group with a common
experience in a single location. The findings therefore are rich in context, allowing the
researcher to make observations of a deeper kind. Due to their intensive nature, Bryman
(2012) describes the unique ability case studies have to enhance the researcher’s
sensitivity to what lies behind the observed patterns within a specific context (p. 74). This
design was fitting since the desired outcomes are specific and subjective: examining
empowerment among the participants and how to cultivate it, as well as providing
insights for integration practices for refugee youth. Case studies are more persuasive in
this regard than ethnographies, policy reviews or theoretical comparisons, for example,
because they provide real cases of impacts made on people when testing a specific
pedagogy for identifiable and repeatable results.
4.2 Epistemology and Ontology
Due to the exploratory and qualitative nature of this study, it is constructivist in its
ontology and interpretive in its epistemology. Constructionism asserts that ‘’social
phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors’’
(Bryman, 2012, p. 710). This is the antithesis to objectivism, which posits that social
phenomena are fixed and exist independently from the actors. This study suggests that
truth is individual and contextual, and it attempts to understand and articulate the
participants’ personal truths within this process, or context. It then offers solutions or
‘actions’ that help to develop and perpetuate the actors’ truths. The context is specific to
the group of participants, their experiences, and the activities done in the process.
This study uses an interpretive epistemology. What does it mean to be a YR with
a growing sense of empowerment? Why is it important for YR to feel integrated in
society, and how does one measure this? How can the applied theatre process influence
these concepts? To answer these questions, which are derivatives of the RQs, this study
presents a specific version of a social reality rather than a definitive one. Therefore, the
findings of this study will be contextual to the participants within this case study,
requiring interpretation. Interpretivism stands in opposition to positivism because it tries
more to understand things than to explain them. Because of the limited research
published about AT’s role in refugee empowerment and integration, this study hopes to
contribute to the understanding of these concepts and functions with the intention to
contribute to theory that might help develop the use of AT in this way. This study is
hence inductive.
It is also worth noting that due to the social-emotional subject matter and
qualitative research design, this study is admittedly axiological. It is value bound, and it
would be being dishonest to claim to remain entirely objective. The TR invested
emotionally in the journey of the participants, and was more concerned to study relevance
than rigor. The TR will therefore be making her own values and potential biases known
throughout this report, as well as the value-laden nature of the information gathered.
Lastly, one particular epistemological consideration worth noting about this study
35
is the desire to understand and explain the AT process itself, not only what comes out of
it. In many ways, this study is different from other social science research studies. It
observes values, feelings, and artistic and educative processes that some social scientists
may caution against. However, perhaps it is time that the social sciences and the field of
international and comparative education pay closer attention to the social-emotional
needs, values, and feelings of young people, and dig deeper in understanding the
ontological implications. During these troubling times of forced mass migration,
educators are obligated to find solutions for providing equitable education to all youth,
which could result in more harmonized societies. So far, language immersion and cross-
cultural discussions have not been enough. Educational practices must be re-examined,
reevaluated, experimented with, and updated. To do this is not an easy task and cannot
simply take a set of variables, do something to those variables, and then assess their
change. The ‘’doing something’’ needs to be put under a microscope so that we begin to
understand when and how certain things shift. Understanding these series of shifts could
offer new ways of thinking about how to educate young people during these troubling
and unfamiliar times.
4.3 Action Research in Education
Action research, being essentially qualitative or naturalistic, seeks to construct
holistic understandings of the dynamic and complex social world of the classroom
and school. It reveals people’s subjective experience and the ways they
meaningfully construct and interpret events, activities, behaviors, responses, and
problems. (Stringer, 2008, p. 47)
Action research (AR) in education is primarily used by teachers and administrators as
systematic processes of inquiry into the planning, evaluation, problem solving and so on,
of schooling (Stringer, 2008). It is a participatory, collaborative process of inquiry that
engages the participants in all stages of the process. This fits with the participatory nature
of theatre in education, the form of applied theatre used in this study. Theatre in
education’s history dates back to the 1960s in England where actors went into schools
and gained an understanding of effective teaching. The resulting performances had
intellectual and emotional impacts on the student audience, which taught them that they
could be active participants in their own learning by acting as potential agents of change
(Prendergast & Saxton, 2016, p. 82). More than being active audience members, action
research can get students staging their own plays and studying the meanings they make as
well as the impact it has on them and their communities.
Action research in education is often scrutinized for its lack of objectivism since
the researcher is also the teacher (or facilitator), potentially coloring his or her
observations. The legitimacy of using action research in social science is an ongoing
discussion. Some defend it as exploratory while others denounce it as untrustworthy.
The strength of AR lies in its systematic execution of carefully articulated
processes of inquiry. As researchers implement a study, they focus on a specific issue and
then Look (gather information by careful observation including looking, listening, and
36
documenting), Think (analyze the information to identify significant features), and Act
(use newly formulated information to devise solutions). The AR routine is often depicted
as a helix (Figure E).
Figure E: Action Research Helix (Stringer, 2008, p. 4)
However, more complex problems that intend to take action outside the
classroom, like social change initiatives, require a more sophisticated formulation of this
process. The AR cycle involves gathering data, analyzing the data, communicating
outcomes, and taking action. For projects with longer timelines or that lead to new
projects, the action feeds back into the study design, completing the cycle (Figure F).
Figure F: Action Research Cycle (Stringer, 2008, p. 5)
The distinguishing feature of AR from basic research is the result in an ‘’action’’
phase of inquiry (Stringer, 2008). In this study, the AR helix describes the ongoing
process of the participants while the AR cycle depicts the course of the research (the
researcher’s cycle).
Another distinctive feature that AR provides researchers with is the inclusion of
what this TR will refer to as the middle section of research projects. This means that AR
researchers not only measure the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of values, norms, perspectives, etc.
of the participants that were impacted or changed by their participation in the study, but it
also captures what transpires during the work period. This provides rich insight into the
world the data was born from as well as offering more data to analyze. Doing this can
37
contribute to a deeper epistemological understanding of how educative processes help
young people to invest in their own learning and gain richer knowledge because of it.
This idea was introduced in section 4.2: Epistemology and Ontology. The data related to
the middle section of this study was collected through participant observations, student
reflection journals, and the teacher reflection journal.
Participatory action research (PAR), used in this study, is a kind of action
research where the researcher and the participants are processing issues and carrying out
the research together. The primary purpose of PAR is to stimulate social change through
a systematic collection and analysis of data for the purpose of taking action (MacDonald,
2012). The PAR method was chosen for this qualitative case study due to its democratic
and participatory approach, giving voice and agency to the participants. Like in TIE, the
TR works collaboratively with the participants to find solutions by pooling knowledge
that deconstruct problems they encounter. Philosophically, PAR embodies ‘’the concept
that people have the right to determine their own development and recognizes the need
for local people to participate meaningfully in the process of analyzing their own
solutions, over which they have (or share, as some would argue) power and control, in
order to lead to sustainable development’’ (Atwood, 1997, p. 2 in MacDonald, 2012, p.
36). The roots of PAR can be traced to Paolo Freire who believed that critical
consciousness and reflection was essential for personal and social change (MacDonald,
2012). However, the development of this critical consciousness requires that individuals
be knowledgeable about social, economic, and political contradictions in order to
challenge the oppressive elements of reality and free themselves from oppression.
While AR is criticized by some academics for lacking in rigor and for being too
partisan, some promote it for its commitment to involving the participants in the
identification of their problems and creating their own solutions (Bryman, 2012, p. 397),
thus empowering them to take action and initiate change. This reflects the popular
student-centered approach to education. Advocates consider this a more effective method
than having solutions to participants’ predefined problems imposed on them. Action
research can thus be used to identify nuances to existing problems and find fresh
solutions.
4.4 Study Design
The UNHCR suggests that programs with refugee youth should consider the following
key points:
There is no universal refugee experience;
Agency is emphasized, in contrast to being passive recipients of services;
Attention to gender is critical;
Participation;
A resiliency lens is more helpful than a vulnerability or deficit lens;
A continued connection to cultural identity (rather than assimilation) is
assumed;
38
Cultural competency is a key requirement for resettlement workers
(Marshall et al., 2016, pp. 2-3)
This study’s design incorporated the points listed above to the best of the TR’s ability.
She was not very informed of Middle Eastern culture before the start of the project, but
gained much knowledge during it. It is far too common to treat YR and YAS as victims.
Hence, a strengths-based approach was used during this project, which means that the
design, teaching, and data collection were rooted in experiential learning approaches that
identified and amplified participants’ talents and strengths.
Figure G below shows a mind map of the study design. (To see the original hand-
drawn map, see Appendix 10.1: Hand-drawn Study Design Map.) The design of this
study considered the knowledge gained from a literature review on AT for empowerment
of refugee youth and other marginalized groups conducted prior to this study and
submitted to Stockholm University as part of the International and Comparative
Education Master’s Program (Lammers, 2018). Throughout the design and
implementation, reflections on how AT pedagogy could relate to empowerment
approaches with refugees, and visa versa, were considered. Aims, objectives, and
research questions were then formed, an epistemology and ontology were established,
and the planning of lessons together with participant recruitment commenced. Each
lesson plan was created prior to the coming week’s class so that the TR could gather
input from the participants on their desired direction for the course. The first class began
with a discussion about empowerment, resilience, and integration. This was followed
with a discussion about what the participants hoped to gain from the course and if they
wanted to stage a final production. While this discussion was not a formal focus group,
much useful information emerged that affected the study’s design. A self-esteem
questionnaire was given at the second meeting since an increase of self-esteem was
identified as a desired outcome by several of the participants. Within the first three weeks
of the class’s commencement, the first round of semi-structured interviews was
conducted (see Appendix 10.4: Interview Guide 1). The class met for 55 hours over the
course of 11 weeks, including the final performances. In total, the TR devoted between
75 and 80 hours to planning, teaching and making logistical arrangements for the final
performances.
The interview questions were formed based on the TR’s intuitive sense of what
might help to answer this study’s RQs as well as insight gained from previous studies.
The interview process attempted to be an empowering activity in itself, initiating a dialog
that gave participants agency over what was discussed. Several unexpected pieces of
information surfaced from the initial interview that directly impacted the rest of the
project.
The TR’s intake of information then proceeded on two tracks (project and research)
that were inspired by the research questions. Observations about the participants relating
to empowerment and integration, and the field of AT and its usefulness for YR, were
being constantly compared. Additionally, the TR compared the progression of the course
with that of previous literature that suggested choices based on identified good practices.
39
Participant observations, a teacher reflection journal, and participant reflection journals
were collected throughout the 11 weeks. Participants often reflected on what transpired
during the classes as they learned about FT, improvisation, pantomime, juggling, rhythm,
storytelling, playwriting, and writing and rehearsing a final production. The final
production was performed twice, first for an audience of approximately 40 members and
nine days later for an audience of about ninety. Immediately after the production,
students completed the same self-esteem survey. The second round of interviews was
conducted within four days of the final performance.
The AR helix shown in the previous section occurred during and after each class. A
warm-up circle began each class that not only warmed their voices and bodies, but
invited reflections about the previous class or anything else they wanted to raise that
week. The last 15 minutes of each class was reserved for reflection about that day’s class
and suggestions for moving forward. This not only helped the TR plan for the next class,
but also gave students an opportunity to take ownership of what had occurred and what
intention they wanted to set for the next meeting. It also helped them to visualize the final
production and the results they wished to see come of it. The AR cycle continues as this
TR prepares for the sustainability of this project, hopefully creating a continuing
program.
Figure G: Study Design (author’s creation)
4.5 Sampling
Unlike many case studies where gathering participants is one of the most challenging
40
aspects, the construction of this study’s sample was straightforward. The TR had
previously volunteered with Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm11 (translation:
Association for Unaccompanied Minors), and recruited participants through the
organization to partake in the 10-week drama course. The purposive, non-probability
method of sampling used, therefore, was convenience sampling with elements of
snowball sampling. The TR invited students from the English class she had taught
previously, and they invited others. No other method for assembling a sample was
feasible due to the large commitment required from the participants. Consequently, the
sample for this case study is not representative of all YR and YAS participating in an
applied theatre project, nor does it claim to have achieved theoretical saturation. The
information sought from the interviews and reflection journals, as well as the surveys,
participant observations, and researcher’s reflections on the final performance were
exclusive to the participants. Any evidence of empowerment gained can only offer
examples of the transformative potential of the applied theatre process, and contribute to
developing theory.
The TR required the participants to commit to attending regularly and engaging
actively if they joined the drama (theatre) group. After some dropouts and new additions,
nine boys between the ages of 17 and 20 from Afghanistan and Kurdistan completed the
course. An extra effort was made by the TR and the participants to recruit girls, but with
no success. The participants postulated that there were fewer female YR and YAS in
Sweden, and those the participants and TR knew were too shy or too embarrassed about
their English to join the drama class. Five of the nine participants volunteered to be
interviewed at the start and end of the project, resulting in 10 semi-structured interviews.
Home
country
Age claimed Time in Sweden Asylum
status
P1 Afghanistan 18 2.5 yrs. Refugee
P2 Afghanistan 17 9 mos. Refugee
P3 Afghanistan 20 3.5 yrs. Application
rejected
P4 Kurdistan 18 2 yrs. Appeal pending
P5 Afghanistan 18 3 yrs. Appeal pending
P6 Afghanistan 18 2.5 yrs. Appeal pending
P7 Afghanistan 17 4 yrs. Refugee
P8 Afghanistan 18 2.5 yrs. Refugee
P9 Kurdistan 19 2 yrs. Application
rejected
Figure H. Participant Demographics (author’s creation)
Due to the safety concerns of the contributors later mentioned in section 4.8:
Ethical Considerations, privacy of the participants’ identities and transparency of the
aims and actions of this study were central to this study’s design. Each participant was
assigned a code number to conceal his identity, and will only be referred to as such in this
report.
11 Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm (EFS), established in 2013, is a politically and religiously
independent organization that is run by unaccompanied minors to oversee their fair asylum application
process and assist in the integration of young migrants into Swedish society (ensamkommandesforbund.se).
41
4.6 Data Collection
Participant observations, a teacher reflection journal, semi-structured interviews and self-
esteem surveys conducted at the start and completion of the course, student reflection
journals, a final manuscript, and a video of the final performance were collected in order
to generate an intensive, detailed examination of this case. Notes were also taken during
the interviews, which proved useful since three of the interview recordings were lost.
However, two interviewees replaced the lost data with written responses to the interview
questions, which were thematically coded and analyzed, using Nvivo, along with the
interview transcripts.
Participant observations sometimes serve as the primary form of data collected in
research studies, but they were used here to remind the researcher about the activities and
people under study as well as to crosscheck data collected through the interviews. They
helped remind the researcher of who said what and when, nonverbal expressions of
feelings, how much time was spent on various activities, and how the participants
communicated with each other and the teacher. The participant observations also helped
in the development of the second interview guide.
The Rosenberg Self-esteem questionnaire (Appendix 10.6: Rosenberg self-esteem
questionnaire) was given to the participants at the start of the theatre course and again
directly after the final performance. This helped the TR isolate self-esteem as a
characteristic that is critical to the development of empowerment discussed in the
literature (Mohajer & Earnest, 2009) and stated by the participants as something they’d
like to acquire more of. The Rosenberg questionnaire was chosen because of its history
and popularity in measuring self-worth in the field of psychology dating back to 1965. It
is a 10-item, uni-dimensional scale used to measure positive and negative feelings about
the self (Rosenberg, 1965). All items were answered using a four-point Likert scale,
ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. The Rosenberg questionnaire was
used as an attempt to objectively measure participants’ self-esteem since all other data
collected was verbalized by the participants as descriptions of their experiences and
feelings, or were observations made by the TR of the participants’ behaviors.
Additionally, it is suggested in AR to include an element of quantitative data because it
‘’provides useful information that improves participant understanding of the nature of
events studied and enhances their ability to make decisions related to actions likely to
lead to an effective outcome’’ (Stringer, 2008, p. 107). Complete objectivity in this
questionnaire was not possible, however, since it was still the participants that were
evaluating and numerating their own sense of self-esteem.
The teacher and student reflection journals were used to track happenings of each
session and to gain feedback about each class. The TR wrote one to three pages each
week about what had occurred, what she’d observed, which activities worked better, and
ideas to modify plans for the next session. The student journals were not collected each
week since some classes either ran out of time or it did not feel right by the teacher to
break the flow and end the class with 15-minutes of journal writing. Student journals
were written on seven out of the 10 classes with a final reflection collected via email after
42
the final performance. Of the nine participants, seven provided final reflections. Some
examples of questions posed for the weekly student reflections were ‘‘what did you learn
from class today?’’ and ‘‘how did you feel during today’s class?’’ The final reflection
question posed was, ‘’how do you feel about the whole process of the drama class and the
final show? Did you learn anything or not? It is ok to include negative information or
criticism.’’
The final manuscript and video of the final performance were collected as
evidence of the applied theatre process and final product. They also served as two
different manifestations of the story created by the students to share their migration
experiences. Comparing these manifestations in different forms (written and performed)
provided the TR a unique way to observe the participants’ participation, growth, and
creativity. They were also key ingredients for documenting the project, which is valued
by EFS and the TR as she prepares for the sustainability of the project (discussed further
in sections 4.7.1: Generalizability and Sustainability and chapter 7: Reflections on
Research).
Lastly, the semi-structured interviews conducted at the beginning and end of the
process were the most valuable sources of data collected. Semi-structured interviewing
was chosen to allow the researcher to keep an open mind about the contours of the
information offered, so that theories and concepts could emerge out of the data (Bryman,
2012, p. 12). (This also reflected the inductive approach.) At the students’ request, the
interview questions were provided to them via email three or four days in advance.
Because the interviewer and interviewees did not share a common native language and no
interpreters were sought, only those comfortable with speaking English volunteered to be
interviewed. This suited the researcher, as time would not permit more than 10
interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim except for one
participant who asked not to be recorded. In that case, detailed notes were taken during
the interviews. The first interview included eight questions while the post-course
interview contained twelve (see Appendix 10.4: Interview Guide 1 and Appendix 10.5:
Interview Guide 2). In alignment with best interview practices in AR, the questions fell
into two of the four ‘grand tour’ question categories: typical (‘’Tell me what you know
about…’’) and specific (‘’How would you rate your personal level of…?’’). The benefit
of developing the interview questions in this way was to provide the interviewees with
the opportunity to explore issues in depth on their own terms in the case of typical
questions, and reveal detailed descriptions of events, interactions, and feelings when
answering the specific questions. The interviewer also incorporated extension questions
(e.g. ‘’Can you tell me more about that?’’), encouragement (‘’I understand what you
mean; keep going.’’), and example questions (e.g. ‘’Can you give me an example of what
you mean?’’) to guide the interviewees and help them to feel comfortable.
4.7 Quality Criteria
The trustworthiness of qualitative research is marked by dependability (reliability),
credibility (validity), transferability (generalizability), and confirmability (objectivity)
(Ponelis, 2015, p. 538). This section will discuss the first three while objectivity was
43
introduced in section 4.2: Epistemology and Ontology, and will be further explored in the
next section 4.8: Ethical Considerations. Because of the social action and personally
transformative goals unique to this research, sustainability will also be discussed. Lastly,
the iterative triangulation method for increased trustworthiness will be introduced.
4.7.1 Transferability and Sustainability
This study was unique to the field of AT regarding the backgrounds of the
participants combined with the language used (English) in relationship to the location
(Sweden). True replication based on the generalization of these findings would be nearly
impossible, as is with most qualitative case studies. Qualitative findings tend to be
oriented to the contextual uniqueness of the social world being studied (Bryman, 2012).
Moreover, people who are examined in case studies do not represent all people of
the same societal position. Instead, the findings are generalized to theory rather than to
populations (Bryman, 2012, p. 406). Every attempt was made to provide a ‘’thick
description’’ of the context and the participants so that readers might assess the likely
applicability of the research to their own projects. This could assist other researchers in
drawing conclusions about what they think worked or did not work, and to further the
discussion of understanding and strengthening refugee empowerment and integration
readiness using applied theatre.
Sustainability is an important element to this research study. While most case
studies are not revisited after completion of the research, the vulnerability of YR and
YAS require an ethic of care regarding the instructor’s relationship with the participants
and the continuation of the work. Applied theatre practitioners caution against
‘’parachuting into’’ a group of already marginalized people where the creation of a safe
space requires time to build relationships and trust (Vettraino et al., 2017, p. 89). This
means that sufficient time needs to be devoted to the AT process, and the students require
reassurance that their instructor will not disappear afterwards. Ideally, AT practitioners
equip the participants and/or school teachers/organizational leaders with a handbook
containing drama and other classroom exercises to reflect upon and extend the issues
raised in the workshop (Day, 2010).
4.7.2 Dependability and Credibility
The validity of conclusions drawn from a qualitative research study depends on the
clear understanding of the purpose of the research, and hence the form of outcome
it is intended to create (Chapman et al., 2015, p. 201).
This being a participatory process, credibility (validity) was improved by the constant
input and self-direction of the participants. The purpose of the research was made explicit
to the participants at the start of the study, and there was immediate buy-in to understand
the empowerment process through the artistic platform provided by theatre. The
participants were, for the most part, eager to share their stories and work together toward
44
staging a final production. A desire to change the sometimes discriminating and
xenophobic view of immigrants in Sweden was also revealed by the participants through
group discussions and in the initial interviews. The participants’ desired outcomes for this
study were therefore interwoven into the study design and data collection. For
determining validity in AR, effective actions must emerge from the research, clearly
demonstrating the success in identifying appropriate perspectives and meanings (Stringer,
2008).
Dependability (reliability) focuses on the stability of results across time, settings,
and samples (Stringer, 2008, p. 47). To achieve this stability, the details of the research
process, including processes for defining the research problem, collecting and analyzing
data, and constructing reports, need to be made available to participants and other
audiences (Stringer, 2008). Limitations in time and available auditors made the
dependability of this study challenging. However, four attempts were made to increase
the dependability. They were an ongoing sharing of the process and progress with the
TR’s advisor, two classmates to review the analysis and findings before submission
(confirmability), and the use of triangulation to verify identified outcomes. Additionally,
the TR confirmed some conclusions she drew from the reflection journals and interviews
with the participants that produced them (‘member checking’).
4.7.3 Triangulation
Iterative triangulation employs systematic comparisons between literature review,
case evidence, and intuition (Lewis, 1998). Iterative triangulation helped this study
achieve higher levels of credibility and dependability by increasing the diversity and
quantity of literature reviewed, of cases found, and of identifying common emerging
themes and concepts. Comparing and contrasting emerging constructs and theory across
case settings enhances conceptual definitions and fortifies internal validity, improving
testability of resulting theory (Lewis, 1998). This comparison between this study’s
findings and findings reviewed in previous AT studies also served as the comparative
element in this research.
4.8 Ethical Considerations
4.8.1 Anonymity, Confidentiality and Consent
At the start of the project, a participation consent form was presented and
explained to the group, and discussed in-depth with those that did not understand. The
consent form included a confidentiality agreement promising anonymity to the best of the
researcher’s ability, freedom for withdrawal, and to opt out of participating in any
activity or discussion (Appendix 10.2: Participant Consent Form). A different form for
guardian’s consent was given to minors under 18 years of age (Appendix 10.3: Guardian
Consent Form).
While anonymity in social science research is highly prioritized, Bryman (2012)
45
explains that absolute anonymity is difficult to achieve. Pseudonyms and codes can hide
only so much as identifiable markers and subtle descriptions emerge, potentially
revealing the identity of the participants. While this was not the intention of the
researcher, maintaining anonymity was particularly challenging due to the advertisement
of the final show by word of mouth and on Facebook. Also, the video of the final
performance was posted on YouTube for the participants to view and share. To be sure
that this didn’t violate a code of ethics or the trust established between the participants
and the TR, verbal consent to post pictures and videos was elicited from the entire sample
before hand. The reveal of some participants’ identities is particularly delicate due to
their undecided asylum status or asylum rejection. While their identities were not
revealed, the participants’ status of refugees or asylum seekers was not hidden.
Unfortunately, the TR cannot control any potential discrimination or stigmatization
imposed on the participants by disagreeable viewers of the show advertisement or video
(Vetenskapsrådet, 2017). However, the participants understood that before consenting to
having their photos and videos published.
The university-issued photo and video cameras were deleted of all files before
their return to the university. All photos, videos, and interview transcriptions were
password protected on the researcher’s computer and will be destroyed along with the
information stored in Nvivo upon notification of the issuance of the master’s degree.
4.8.2 Working with Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers
There are many ethical issues to consider when conducting empowerment projects
with YR and YAS. Leonard & McLaren, Eds., (1993) describe the only ethical way to
teach empowerment.
The critical teacher must also be a democratic one. If the critical teacher
criticizes inequality and the lack of democracy in society, and then teaches in an
authoritarian way, she or he compromises her or his credibility. The empowering
education Freire suggests is not a new data bank or doctrine delivered to
students; it is, instead, a democratic and transformative relationship between
students and teacher, students and learning, and students and society (p. 26).
The TR was continually aware of treating the students equally, inviting them to share
their opinions, ideas, and criticisms at all stages of the process. She also looked for
opportunities for them to take on leadership roles including script editing and directing.
She related to them with sensitivity and care, but also as competent young people that
were responsible for the quality of the performance and making the most of this
opportunity. She never asked them about their migration experiences without them
introducing the topic. For example, when she assigned the story writing for the final
manuscript, she did not require them to complete the assignment nor did she insist that it
must be about their migration experience.
Furthermore, in the United Nations Habitat publication, Refugee Youth: Good
Practices in Urban Resettlement Contexts, Marshall et al. (2016) outline the list of
46
responsibilities instructors have when using the expressive arts as a teaching tool:
It is necessary for instructors and leaders to be prepared to address the potential
challenges and difficult topics that may emerge in expressive arts contexts. This
means that they must understand the complex backgrounds and conditions of
participants; encourage and foster a positive sense of community despite
differences; understand and gain exposure, where possible, to the difficulties and
hardships that participants may have faced; acknowledge, problematize and
address inaccuracies and omissions of western knowledge and power imbalances;
and, name the challenges that the youth are facing in their daily lives (p. 37).
In the TR’s submitted literature review, she included substantial research on best
practices for using creative and performing arts with refugee youth. She maintained an
encouraging, open, and sympathetic dialog with the participants that acknowledged and
problematized power relationships, inequalities, and discrimination. She also invited
them to share their fears and doubts about the asylum and resettlement process, and
mentored them as they expressed a desire to improve their English and further their
education.
4.8.3 Ethical Practices in Action Research
Finally, ethical practices in AR involve the human dimensions of relationships,
communication, participation, and inclusion (Stringer, 2008, p. 34). Good relationships in
AR apply to teacher-student relationships and the relationships among the students. They
promote feelings of harmony, avoid conflicts where possible, resolve conflicts as they
arise, and encourage cooperative dynamics as opposed to competitive ones (Stringer,
2008, p. 34). Good communication involves listening to each other, accepting and acting
upon what is said, being truthful and sincere, acting in socially and culturally appropriate
ways, and regularly advising others about what is happening (Stringer, 2008, p. 35).
One of the purposes of AR is to engage the expertise of the participants and help
them to appreciate the quality and validity of their experiences and therefore their voices.
Active participation, hence, is very empowering for people who have a poor self-image
(Stringer, 2008, p. 35). Participation is most effective when it enables people to perform
significant tasks, provides support for people as they learn to act for themselves, and
deals personally and directly with people (Stringer, 2008, p. 35).
Ultimately, inclusion is of utmost importance when conducting ethical action
research. Inclusion requires the teacher and participants to involve all individuals whose
lives are affected by the issue of investigation, consider all issues affecting the research
questions, cooperate with groups or external agencies where necessary, and ensure all
participants benefit from activities (Stringer, 2008, p. 36). All of these points were
employed throughout the theatre class and final performance, and during the interviews.
47
4.9 Analytical Procedure
Bryman (2012) states that qualitative research is less codified than its quantitative
counterpart (p. 407). This means that it is less influenced by strict guidelines and
directions about how to go about collecting data and analyzing it. This more fluid
structure gives fuel to critics of qualitative research, claiming that it is unsystematic or
unscientific, and that it gives the researcher too much room to make unfounded
correlations. This is the main reason that NVivo was used to code the interviews: to
provide greater rigor and increase the reliability of the procedures used to analyze the
data. This was particularly important for maintaining the objectivity of the teacher-
researcher.
The data corpus for this study includes participant observations, self-esteem
questionnaires, teacher and student reflection journals, the final manuscript, the
performance video, and semi-structured interviews. The data are separated into sets; the
main set includes the interviews and participant reflection journals, which was coded
using NVivo. The other sets include participant observations, the final manuscript, and
the teacher reflection journal, which were analyzed less formally but studied intensively
in order to contribute context and insight to the themes and eventual theories that
emerged from the coding process. The questionnaire compares the before and after scores
of the students quantitatively, while the video of the final performance was examined
carefully to find supporting themes related to the final manuscript and the written
reflections.
Hand-written memos were kept to type codes into categories, helping in the
formation of themes. Initial codes were divided into background codes and descriptive
codes after refinement from a second round of coding. Recoding was done for the
purpose of checking that coding was done correctly, and that the coded text was cross-
coded with other applicable codes. The codes, referred to as ‘units of meaning’ in AR,
were then grouped and consolidated into concepts, which were compared with insights
from the other sources of data. Themes were then uncovered, reviewed, and named. A
visualization of the data analysis process is shown in Figure I below.
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Figure I: Data Analysis (author’s creation)
Thematic analysis was used to code the main data set. Thematic analysis is a
systematic method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns within data (Braun &
Clarke, 2006). While AR does not require thematic analysis to be used, the TR chose to
use it in an attempt to ensure that the themes were generated in a systematic way. It
organizes and describes the data set in detail, and when used thoroughly, interprets
various aspects of the research topic (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Since this study was
conducted under constructionist ontology, thematic analysis was used to examine the
ways in which events, realities, meanings, and experiences are the effects of varying
discourses taking place within society (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 81).
However, thematic analysis lacks a clear ‘what it is’ and ‘how to execute it’,
causing some critics to consider it a ‘free for all.’ Other critics regard it as ‘’impression
analysis’’ because of the lack of detail and scrutiny on how the analysis process is carried
out (Welsh, 2002, para. 7). Yet, the use of analysis software helps provide support for the
way in which the data are being interpreted, and is thought by some to add rigor to
qualitative research (Welsh, 2002, para. 8).
The thematic analysis was conducted in six stages:
1. Familiarizing self with data
2. Generating initial codes and concepts
3. Discovering and reviewing themes
4. Defining and naming themes
5. Complementing the analysis with information from other data sets
49
6. Writing the analysis
The participant observations, teacher reflection journal, questionnaires, final
manuscript, and performance video were re-examined to add perspective to the concepts,
and support the themes that emerged from the main data set. In other words, the
additional data were used in triangulation to confirm or refute what the main data set
found. Finally, the findings were written and a comparison with previous literature was
conducted to contribute to theory of how AT can empower young refugees and help
prepare them for integration.
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5 Data Analysis and Findings
This section will take the reader through the story of this study and how it arrived at its
findings. It will serve as an analytic thread that unites and integrates the major themes of
the project.
In examining her data, the TR began with a word frequency query to give her an
overarching idea of potential themes that might emerge. NVivo can generate a word
cloud that sizes the words in proportion to their frequency (see Appendix 10.8: Word
Cloud). The three most frequently used words (and their close derivatives) were think
(148), refugee (144), and people (128). Other notable word repetitions include good
(101), society (93), and learned (90). This indicated to the TR that much of the
participants’ output was positive, and reflected on people in society, what the participants
thought, and what they learned.
5.1 Background Codes
The initial codes were sectioned into two groups, background codes and descriptive
codes. Background codes helped the researcher survey the participants’ understandings of
being a refugee, theatre (drama), and the three preset codes of empowerment, resilience,
and integration. While the overall approach to this thematic analysis process was through
open coding, some preset codes (i.e. a priori codes) were decided before the analysis
began. Using a hybrid of preset and open codes is recommended because it combines
codes directly related to the conceptual framework and research questions with codes that
lead to unexpected emergent themes (TCEC, n.d., p. 1). These preset codes were chosen
based on the previously conducted literature review as themes examined through doing
AT with YR and YAS. Consequently, the terms empowerment, resilience, and
integration were presented to the class at the beginning of the course, and the
interviewees were asked to explain their understandings and to rate themselves on a five-
point scale during the first and second interviews. There were times that the interviewees
opted out of rating themselves, but provided a verbal response. The raw data of the three
preset codes is presented in Table 2 below.
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Table 2. Interviewee Responses to Preset Codes (author’s creation)
The TR was conscientious not to lead the participants by describing any of the
preset codes to them or rate themselves in any particular way. If they did not know what a
term meant, she offered a definition and asked if they agreed or if that triggered any
knowledge of the term’s meaning.
P1: Can you remember me what resilient mean?
EL: Well, my understanding of resilient means you can bounce back. When
someone hurts you, you bounce back. You get back up. You try again. You move
forward.
P1: Ah yes, you didn’t stop.
EL: Right, you don’t stop. That’s my understanding. Do you have a different one?
Does that make you think of anything else?
(…)
P1: Ah, during the drama class I have a lot of stress about how we can do it.
Maybe I forgot the meaning of the story. But I did again. I just, I remember and
do it for myself.
EL: You mean, by yourself at home?
P1: Ah, at home. And I remember all thing. I did it for the people.
EL: So you feel like, to prepare yourself for the performance, you had to do it
again? You weren’t sure, maybe it will work, maybe not. But you did it again and
again?
P1: Yeah. I think because they repeat, repetition is the mother of the learning. Is
why I repeated again, I looked at it again. Even I forgot it in the practicing and
52
then I feel comfortable.
EL: So you felt like that was sort of ‘acting’ resilient?
P1: Yeah.
If she did not agree with the interviewee’s definition of a term, she asked for clarification.
EL: First, let’s start with empowerment. Do you remember what empowerment
means?
P1: You’re available to do something.
EL: Available. Ok. Do you know what power means?
P1: Power? You are strong.
EL: So it comes from power. Empowerment. Do you mean you’re able to do
something? Or do you mean available?
P1: Empowerment …available. I can do something. Empowerment.
At times, the interviewees were confident in their understandings of the terms.
EL: Ok, and do you remember integration? What that means?
P1: Integration is the opposite to segregation.
P2: Empowerment is a person who can represent himself and his views in society
with being independent, being powerful person, and having the control over self.
When asked to explain the meaning of resilience:
P4: You stand up again no matter how many times you fall down.
The empowerment approach to making meaning of the terms, which are background
codes in this case, required learning the participants’ understandings of them. This was
also salient when forming the indicators used to measure empowerment and the
participants’ sense of integration.
5.2 Descriptive Codes
Initial coding resulted in 46 descriptive codes ranging from self-identified characteristics
such as self-esteem and courage to other project-related aspects such as project
descriptors and social impact. The descriptive codes involved the participants’
interpretations of their feelings and experiences, and their reflections on the project as
well as their lives in general. A second round of coding helped crosscheck the legitimacy
of initially assigned codes and initiated the grouping process that would result in the next
phase of analysis, Concepts. (These concepts were generated from the combining and
rearranging of background and descriptive codes, much like axial codes in grounded
theory.) A complete list of codes and their descriptions can be found in Appendix 10.8:
Descriptions of Codes. The descriptive codes captured a range of information that, when
combined with the narrative codes, helped the researcher to identify concepts, trends, and
53
themes in the study’s story.
5.3 Concepts
The background and descriptive codes were grouped into nine concepts: refugee
experience, integration experience, empowerment experience, participant-identified
characteristics, community, quality of project, social impact, sustainability of experience,
and negative experiences. To view the codes grouped within the concepts, see Appendix
10.8: Open Coding. Each will be detailed here to provide a foundation for the themes
identified and discussed in the following section.
5.3.1 Refugee Experience
The refugee experience concept sheds light on how the participants identify
themselves, the challenges and benefits of being a refugee, if and how they’ve recovered
from their experience, and how they feel they can interact with the society. All five
interviewees described being a YR or YAS as difficult. The reasons ranged from feeling
discriminated against, feeling stateless, having limited or no human rights (e.g. fair access
to the legal system) to feeling lonely, scared and having nothing. One participant
described it by stating, ‘‘you start from zero. It’s like being a baby again.’’ Another
participant offered, ‘’I hope no one be a refugee.’’ When asked in the second interview to
revisit what it meant to him to be a refugee a third said, ‘’I don’t want to think about it.
Something is done. Already done.’’
Being a refugee wasn’t always described as a bad experience.
P8: I was very exciting from the beginning and would learn so fast everything
because I liked the new people and this country.
P2: ‘’…I feel calm and convenient in Sweden, being a refugee. Because the
refugees, they can express what they want, their ethnicity, their beliefs, what
they think in their minds.
It may be noted that P2 and P8 have their residence permits.
The participants saw doing a theatre show as an opportunity to share their
experiences of being a refugee or UM with the host society. This was in some ways to
seek sympathy (‘’To spread the message that it’s hard for refugees’’) or to rectify what
the participants suspected might be ‘’wrong perceptions’’ of refugees.
P2: So the main focus of this drama should be that the audience should come to
know about the real situation of refugees. If they have some wrong perspectives
and some wrong thoughts and concepts relating to refugees, those wrong
concepts, those wrong perceptions should be rectified through this drama. If
they have got good and nice thoughts relating to the refugees, it should
54
increase. And they should embrace the refugees more and more.
P6: There is a bad picture of unaccompanied minors in Sweden. In news, only
Afghan unaccompanied minors are criminals; they lie about their age. They
cannot study or go to university. We should prove that we are not like this.
5.3.2 Integration Experience
The integration experience concept was discovered as the sense of integration felt by the
participants in correlation to the level of acceptance they interpreted from Swedish
society. Despite integration being an idea the TR set out to examine, the participants
offered more dynamic insight into the issue than was expected.
One of the ways the participants explained their understanding of Swedish society
was through cultural comparison. One of the participants compared Iraq, where he was
living previously, with Sweden.
P4: ‘’…in Iraq, people are warmer, people care. They ask if you’ve had lunch.
Here, nobody cares or is going to advise you to study harder. Advice is
necessary at my age and at this stage. What do we need to get a better life? But
no one tells us in Sweden. Feedback is lacking. In Sweden, people don’t praise
you. They don’t give you motivation. Here, you search for approval but you
don’t get it.
According to the TR’s observation, one or two participants, those who have been
in Sweden longer or have been reunified with their families, seemed to have an easier
time. One interviewee claimed not to have ‘’much problem in the society’’ because he
goes to class and has some Swedish friends. Another interviewee said he understood and
respected the rules, and he studies, and that is why he feels integrated. A third participant
who is new to Sweden and came with his family through the reunification program
described his nature as social; he explained his need for a social life and that this
motivates him to ‘’go for integration.’’ Nevertheless, most participants in this study
described the hardship of integrating into Swedish society. They called it a ’’cold,’’
’’non-communicative,’’ ‘’not so caring’’ place.
One participant pinpointed the problem that prevents refugees from integrating
easily into Swedish society. Simultaneously, he isolated the key to unlocking immigrants’
access to the society.
P2: When they come in the society of Sweden, it’s different, it’s modern.
However, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and maybe Iraq and Syria, they are third
world societies so there is a huge difference between the societies. They don’t
know the norms and values of the society, they don’t know the language, they
don’t know about the system, they don’t know about the concept of life in first
world country, and they don’t know how the system of life and personal and
social life go on in Sweden. It makes them uncommunicative. It makes them not
55
to have communication, especially language. Language is having the key
source of communication.
5.3.3 Empowerment Experience
P2: Empowerment for me, I think, means a person should believe in himself,
that he is worth of doing everything, that he has got the ability, the talent. And a
person should make himself satisfied and self-respect, and should make himself
have a great vision that he can do. He is a great person in the society, and he is
a person who can change. He can do something for the community and for the
society, and he is a man or a woman of value.
Several descriptive codes were grouped under the empowerment experience concept
including agency and a lack thereof, empowerment and a lack thereof, resilience,
refugees as teachers, and recognition/acknowledgement received. Before analysis could
begin, a rich understanding of how the participants perceived empowerment within
themselves was reviewed. The above quote by P2 paints a detailed picture of his
understanding of empowerment and his relationship to it. It has empowering undertones
that denote the responsibility YR have to empower themselves. Another participant
reinforced that by stating, ‘’so you start to rely on yourself, praise yourself, motivate.’’
P1 explained how the final performance served as an empowering tool.
P1: As a person, when I did the performance, I feel this power. Empowered
myself. Because I did my best. And I shared. And I do my act in front of the
people. It’s kind of empowered to me. That I am useful.
Another participant, however, reported low levels of empowerment before and after the
process. During the first interview he stated, ‘’I am weak. I am not so powerful.’’ At the
second interview, when asked directly if he felt that the experience empowered him he
said, ‘’Empowered…um, I don’t think myself strong and empowered because I don’t
have control of my future. I live at the time, now. I don’t know what happen tomorrow.’’
This struck the TR as an emerging theme of how agency impacts empowerment. Perhaps
without a sense of control over one’s life and future, there is no hope for empowering
oneself. The participant later said, however, that ‘’…I think I can affect my future. I don’t
have control but I can have affect.’’
It is of this TR’s opinion that empowerment for YR and YAS can only begin once
some healing has taken place. In their final written reflections, two participants noted
how the experience of sharing their stories provided healing.
P8: I think it was a great idea to share our history by a performance on the
scene to our audience.
P3: I learned a lot of positive information and I remembered past memories and
that made me feel confident.
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This demonstrates how the experience of sharing their histories can, however negative,
help to relieve some of the weight they carry with them. P2 describes the benefit of
sharing their migration experiences with the public.
P2: So we have kept it for long enough. So now I think this is the time that we
should make them public. Because we live in a society. We are social creatures.
We should make them social. We should associate the feelings with others too.
Some things are good to be personal. But some things, I think if you share them
with public, it will become more greater and greater. For instance, if I just talk
about the life story of P3. his life story of being a refugee, since it’s personal
that it was really challenging to bear them. So now he shared his story with
others. So now he thinks that this is not only me who bears this story. The same
is being endured by others. So I think he has made his load of sorrows and
problems and difficulties small. Too small right now. It used to be too big, now
the load of his problems has become too small. The same with my load of
problems, the same with P4’s load of problems and others. Now It is easy
enough to endure it and just walk with.
Assuming a leadership or instructional position can also be empowering. Applied theatre
projects, especially those resulting in a final performance, not only teach about
empowerment but also give the participants an opportunity to do it. The refugees as
teachers code helped the TR to pick out examples of how informing the public helped the
participants to feel their value by recognizing their unique knowledge. The participants’
reasons for wanting to teach through performance included wanting to give information
about Afghanis and the Afghanistan war, to ‘’spread the message that it is hard for
refugees,’’ to show the audience how hard it is to start again, and to show that ‘’there is
injustice in Sweden.’’ One participant said, ‘’prejudice comes from a lack of
knowledge.’’
Empowerment can also come from being recognized and acknowledged.
P2: So one person told me. He was an English. He said that ‘’you all really did
well; you all really changed my mind. Now I’ve got a new picture of you all, a
new image from your life being a refugee, from your refugee experience.’’ So
this was a great benefit that we shared our stories because we could change the
ideas of a few people. This was a great benefit I think for everyone.
From observation, the participants felt extremely excited and proud directly after the
performance. Most people stayed after the show to engage in a short question and answer
session. Afterwards, an array of snacks and coffee were offered to encourage audience
members to stay and talk with the performers. The TR witnessed many audience
members approach the participants after the show, thanking them and praising them.
EL: Did you talk to any Swedish people after the show?
P6: Yeah.
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EL: What did they say to you?
P6: They had good reflection.
EL: Do you feel like they talked to you or treated you differently after the show
than your previous experiences with Swedish people?
P6: Yeah…I think they wanted to accelerate me.
EL: Accelerate you? Like, make you feel good? Like, elevate you?
P6: Yeah
EL: Do you remember what they said?
P6: Not exactly, but …
EL: That’s ok.
P6: But it was positive.
5.3.4 Participant-Identified Characteristics
The project produced seventeen participant-identified characteristics, expressed by the
participants explicitly and implicitly, and gathered through class discussions (participant
observations), written reflections, self-esteem questionnaires and interviews. It should be
noted that the TR, according to her own understandings and observations, recorded the
implicit characteristics by assigning codes to the participants’ descriptions. She attempted
to remain as true to the meanings expressed by the participants as possible. The most
coded were courage, self-expression, and self-confidence. These three will be presented,
along with self-esteem, in this section. A complete list of the participant-identified
characteristics can be found in Appendix 10.8: Open Coding. This list helps to imagine
the experiences and feelings of the participants, and gives shape to what might be needed
to elevate their sense of empowerment and ability to integrate.
This was the first time seven out of the nine participants did theatre. Many of the
courage codes involved expressions of this fact, and feelings they had associated with it.
P1: Brave. I learned a lot. It was my first experience that I did it and I shared
my experience with people. And I feel brave. And I can speak to people.
P6: It was very good because I have stress before the first performance because
it was my first time I perform or act in front of public. But yeah, I think it was
very good.
P6 written reflection: It was a great experience. I have absolutely learned many
things. It helped me to improve my confidence, to dare to speak in front of the
public and also to improve my English knowledge.
One of the participants who had done theatre before commented,
P2: But overall, the process went well because our first experience of doing a
theatre in Sweden in a different culture and different people with different
ideas.
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The AT process provided the participants with an opportunity to learn how to
express themselves in different ways using English and non-verbal communication
forms. The performance gave them a platform to practice what they learned. At the start
of the course, one participant shared his desire to improve his ability to express himself in
all his parts: hands, face, arms, legs, and voice. He cited this ability as ‘’crucial.’’ He
further explained,
P4: If you express yourself better, you become persuasive, and that’s crucial if
you want to creative positive.
Another participant explained that it was not only the language barrier that prohibited
him from freely expressing himself.
P8: …not just about the language. When I speak my language, I am not so
comfortable. I want to speak with more power, more sure, more
comfortable…to feel very free when I speak, to be sure of myself.
After the completion of the project, one participant remarked,
P4: Well, you see, it’s not easy to get the whole package but I’m going there. I
think I have gotten better in expressing myself, using my voice better, speak a
little louder.
The majority of the data collected related to self-confidence occurred after the
project.
P6: I tested myself that my qualities that I can speak and before it, I didn’t
speak in front of the people. Not yet. Not at the school. Yeah, it helped me to
improve my confidence.
P1: Self-confidence. When I was on the stage, this was the first time in front of
50 people, more than, I feel more comfortable... I feel that I can do everything
in drama.
Several participants also mentioned self-confidence/self-esteem as something they hoped
to gain from the experience at the start. Follow up interviews would be necessary to
determine if this AT process left a lasting impact on the participants with regards to self-
expression and self-confidence.
Self-esteem was a recurring concept throughout the process, introduced by the
participants during the first meeting when asked what they wanted to gain from this AT
experience. The TR then decided to conduct a self-esteem questionnaire, before and after,
to track their advancement or decline. More than two months passed between
questionnaires. The results are presented Figure J below.
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Figure J: Self-esteem Survey Results (author’s creation)
Seventy-eight percent of the respondents reported elevated levels of self-esteem. The two
participants that reported decreased levels both decreased by one point, whereas those
that reported increased levels increased by three to seven points (on a 40-point scale).
The aggregate increase of scores was 3.33. This denotes a significant boost of self-esteem
for most of the participants as a result of the AT project.
In a final journal reflection, one participant shared,
P7: I did not know much about drama and theater, because I was a beginner who
would experience an important thing, I do not take it seriously from the
beginning because of unconsciousness…It became more important and more
important every time we had a drama, I felt I learned something new so I dared
to do things I did not expect to do, I gained so much self-esteem, now I learned
pretty well how to handle me when I'm on stage, I'm so grateful that I had to
join.
5.3.5 Community
The participants explored the community concept on two levels: friendships within the
drama group and forming connections with people in the local area. Several participants
discussed the friendships they made within the group with openness and enthusiasm.
P2: I made a strong network of friendship that this is an honor for me that I have
got great and close friends. We trust each other and this is a great benefit for me.
Other participants also commented on the trust built between the participants.
P4: We relied on each other. If somebody wasn’t there or didn’t know what to do,
then it was like, we had somehow communication and everybody knew what to
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do…And we learned to trust more in each other.
Related to the wider community, one participant explained the need to form
communities when resettling in a host society.
P2: Because in life you need love. You need love from your people, neighbors,
sisters, brothers, parents, relatives, and from your friends, everybody. In contrast,
I can tell you that they don’t anymore have the love of their parents here in
Sweden.
By ‘they,’ P2 is referring to the UM that come here without their families. He likely does
not mean that they are no longer loved, rather that here they no longer experience that
love in a physical way.
Most powerfully, one participant described how sharing his experience with the
wider community helped address his feelings of loneliness.
P1: And I shared my story with people I feel better because now I think I am not
alone. There is someone who wants to help people when they come to this
country. When I spoke with audience, I became more comfortable because I feel
like a family.
Here, the participant describes feeling like members of the local community care and
‘want to help,’ causing him to feel more comfortable. This sensation could potentially lay
the type of emotional tracks that could form ongoing close relationships with members of
the host society.
5.3.6 Quality of Project and Social Impact
Due to the close link between the project’s quality and the social impact it potentially
made, these two concepts will be presented in tandem. The quality of this project from
the participants’ perspective was examined on two levels: their reactions to the process
and their assessment of the performance. They all claimed to have enjoyed themselves
and to have learned things ranging from group work to acting to confidence to English
knowledge. Most interestingly, a few of the participants seemed to value and understand
the AT process as one that reframed their real-life experiences.
P4: How the world really works. It was that. I got insight into how the real
world works. And also a little bit on human nature. What we tend to do, what we
tend to not do. I learned a lot and that was satisfying for me.
He continued with,
P4: The thing is, in real world you don’t get what you really want; you have to
take it. Same in the show; no one is going to give you what you want. You have
to take it. You have to take your position. It was a reflection of reality. If you
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want something, you have to do it. Nobody is going to give it to you.
Other participants shared similar reflections.
P1: Theatre is one of the best ways to picture a life story, to picture an
experience whether the person is a refugee or that experience is from a war or
from any prison whatsoever. Theatre can be one of the best ways to visualize or
to experience a real life story.
P8: And how you can play and act. And something, yeah, explain something
how you can be able to make a history visible and how you can make a story
show it to other people so they understand.
This connection made between the fictional world of the stage play and process, and the
real world, surprised the teacher-researcher as it alludes to Boal’s ultimate intention for
Theatre of the Oppressed.
Two participants stated plainly the personal impact the final performance had on them.
P6: I am not ashamed like before the performance.
P1: That was an outstanding performance and I am satisfied for doing this
theater.
However, the process did not go without criticism. One participant expressed his
frustration with the lack of responsibility taken by some members of the group.
P2: On the other hand, there were some lacks during the drama process, for
instance, the members were not so serious and interested in some situations.
Some of us were not cooperating really well, and not being attentive during the
show. This is the fact that we all have our weaknesses and strengths.
When first asked if they wanted to do a final performance and what purpose it
could serve, the participants agreed that it should have a social impact goal.
P2: So obviously, when we just for fun through a theatre or drama, we do not
perform it for ourselves. We perform it for the society, the public, the people and
for the world.
P1: If you share your idea with people in the country, politics also became
change.
P6: To show that there is injustice in Sweden.
After the performance, the interviewees were asked if this social impact goal was
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achieved.
P1: I spoke with the people. They didn’t know about how Afghanistan’s people
they came to Sweden. When I speak with them, they change their idea. And
when they speak with you, they speak a little different.
One participant claimed that they were able to change the minds of the audience.
P2: This was the biggest outcome of the theatre: that we could persuade many
of the audience that their mindset, their ideas regarding to refugees, they are
changed. They were changes.
While this claim cannot be proven since there was no data collected from the audience
members, it is worth noting that one participant, supported by similar sentiments offered
by other participants, viewed the performance as having a persuasive effect on the
audience.
Some participants stated they wanted to reach policy makers and refugee
advocates in addition to civilians. There were representatives from Rädda Barnen
(translated: Save the Children), The Red Cross, and the UNHCR in attendance. The
participants, however, did not take the initiative to invite politicians or Migration Agency
workers. The TR sent invitations to the Swedish Ministry of Education and the Migration
Agency, but received no response.
Advocating for their human rights was yet another way the participants voiced
their desire to create social change.
P2: Being a refugee in some countries means you are nothing. The refugees,
they don’t have value. They don’t have access to their social, basic, and civil
rights. Because in some situations they don’t have any documents. They cannot
do anything because you are not a citizen of that country. If something is going
unfair to you, something is going wrong, you don’t have access to the courts,
the officials, in order to just get their rights.
P6: They think we came here to have better economic life, but not true. We have
come here for better future, to be human.
It appeared that if the participants felt that their human rights were met, they would also
feel like equals in the Swedish society—something they did not feel at the time of
questioning. It could be argued that the first step toward integration is equality.
5.3.7 Sustainability of Experience
The sustainability concept materialized in the analysis in two ways, and for two reasons.
Sustainability was surveyed in terms of the lasting potential of the participants’ feelings
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that emerged from this project, and the possibility for the continuation of this project.
Additionally, some data emerged on how their involvement in this project had some
positive effects on their lives, opening new possibilities for them.
P2: I can say that many of the audience that came, I can say, they got
something really great, really true, really profitable. Something that had positive
energy so they got from this theatre, so this was the purpose: to change the
ideas and the thoughts of the Swedish community and I think we did it 90% and
I hope we will do it again and again in order to change the all community of
Sweden about the refugees.
P2 describes the feeling and the purpose of the performance, a positive energy to change
the thoughts and ideas of the Swedish community. In his assessment, this mission was
mostly accomplished, but requires repetition if they were to make a substantial impact on
the whole community. P2 then shares how his involvement in this project helped him to
form new connections.
P2: So further point that I can mention is this that by the help of this theatre, I
could approach to other addresses. This theatre helped me that I should make a
relationship and communication with other organizations, other associations
that they are doing theatre too. So it’s really now I can see that many doors are
open for us to go ahead and expand this theatre more and more.
Another participant described his willingness to repeat the project.
P1: I would do it again. I would practice to spend more time because then we see
that was too short for us. And was first time we did theatre; it was too much
difficult for us. Because at the beginning, we kind of joking. At the end, it was
more seriously.
P1 reflects on how the participants could make more meaning of the opportunity if they
were to do it again, signaling a desire to continue the course.
When asked if they achieved what they hoped to achieve for themselves in this
process, the participants provided mixed responses.
P6: No, but I think learning to improve myself is a long process. It takes many
years but I think it was a very good beginning and it was a like, imperative.
P8: I thought I wanted to learn how drama and English, about myself. I learned
about 50%. I thought this would be very easier and I can learn much more. But I
know that it takes time.
P1: That was an outstanding performance and I am satisfied for doing this
theater. Personally, I learn a lot. It was my first experience to be an actor in
theatre and now I learned how can I pantomime and do people laugh as actor.
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P4: It’s not white or black. It has been helpful. The thing I wanted to get out of
the class, that was my goal, but I never expected to get everything. I hoped I
would use this class to get there and I did. That’s the point. You take step by step.
It takes time and effort. As long as I’m getting closer.
In his response, P4 depicts the role that an isolated experience can play in one’s personal
growth. He describes how the impact of one experience within a larger life context is not
easy to assess. However, one takes from experiences what one can to move closer to
one’s goal.
This concept captures what materialized for the participants that they might carry
into their futures be it new feelings, new friendships, or new contacts that are doing
similar work. The question is, will these feelings and connections remain and continue to
make a positive impact on the participants and the Swedish community? Also, can this
particular project continue in some form, and what would the benefits be? These
questions will be addressed in the succeeding sections that address sustainability: 5.5.3
and 6.1.
5.3.8 Negative Experiences
Some examples of negative experiences were touched on in earlier concepts, but this
section will present some of the ongoing challenges the participants experienced in their
lives, and some criticisms they had of the project.
A constant fear of asylum rejection was present for three out of the nine
participants. Two other participants had already received their application rejections and
were trying to make a life in Sweden anyway. In total, five out of the nine participants
feared rejection or deportation. This statelessness and the anxiety it caused them came up
frequently during group discussions, in casual conversation before and after classes and
interviews, and on one occasion, during an interview. When asked whether he felt more
or less integrated after the project, a participant responded,
P4: I feel differently yes, but not because of the project. I have recently gotten my
2nd rejection so that changes things. But it doesn’t have to do with the theatre.
Getting these rejections has made me realize that the world is crueler than I
thought. It’s a harsh place and you have to fight to survive. It’s not a place to
have fun in; it’s a place to fight. You want something, you fight for it. It’s fight
for survival.
Other sources of daily stress for the participants were related to the discrimination they
felt because of their ethnicity or for being an immigrant.
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P6: In Iran, we were different. Low class. Hazara ethnicity12; it was
discrimination. Still feel discrimination here.
P6: Swedish people don’t like to make friends with immigrants.
When referring to the Swedish asylum system, P6 felt discriminated against because he
was Afghanistani.
P6: Heard that all people have same rights. In news, Syrians are first priority.
Afghan lower.
Sweden has announced openly that they prioritize (and will continue in 2018) asylum
applications submitted by those fleeing the Syrian war over all others.
Other negative experiences about their daily lives voiced by the participants
included feelings of loneliness, the feeling of having ‘’lost everything,’’ and insecurity
about their identities. Most youngsters that seek refuge in Europe are unaccompanied13.
This means they arrive alone, and some anticipate never seeing their families again. That
coupled with the trauma that results from the migration experience can cause young
migrants to question their identities. In one journal reflection, a participant apologizes for
not being cooperative.
P8: Sorry that I refuse. Sometimes think it’s my identity to refuse. When I
remember my history and think about experience as refugee and unaccompanied
minor, I feel so sad.
Here, P8 questions his actions by examining his identity. He then attributes this
confusion about his identity to the sadness he feels for being a refugee. Another
participant voiced what he needs from the host society to feel welcomed.
P1: Just we want that they look at us like fellows human, and accept my identity
both individual and group identity.
Refugees need to reconstruct their identities as members of a new society, first by
feeling accepted as they are and then by working together with other citizens to redefine
the country’s cultural and societal identity. However, this cannot begin until they have
confirmation that they can stay.
When asked to talk about the weaknesses he observed in the process, one
participant expounded,
12 Afhgan Hazaras are targeted by the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan because most of them are Shi’a
Muslims (IS members are Sunni) and because of their alleged involvement in the Syrian war as recruited
fighters for the al-Asad regime (Rafiq, 2016). 13 In 2016, 63,000 asylum-seeking unaccompanied minors were registered in Europe with 40% from
Afghanistan. This figure is down from 96,000 in 2015 (Eurostat, 2017).
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P2: Sometimes the members were late for the class. And sometimes they were
not doing their role really willingly. It seemed to me that some exceptions, just
one or two of our members, they used to pretend that they don’t want to do this
project. Or they don’t want to do their role willingly, interestedly. I could figure
it out through their faces, their reactions. So we were having some few
weaknesses.
This was corroborated in the participant observation notes, which recorded a lack of
focus demonstrated by the group one or two occasions. At the last class before moving to
the performance space, the TR got upset with the participants and reprimanded them for
being on their phones, not knowing their lines, and not knowing where they were
supposed to be on the stage. The TR kept a careful attendance record, and at every class
there was at least one person late; also, except for one occasion, at least one person was
absent. The entire sample attended both performances and the rehearsals that preceded
them. However, there was at least one participant that arrived late on every occasion.
Another participant seconded P2’s observation when asked if he would change anything
were he to do the project again.
P8: I would change, I think it would be better if people will actually do that and
do they best. People they want to be with the drama groups, like a group, we
should have good work in the group.
EL: So you’re saying that if it were happen again, you would like people to be
more dedicated?
P8: Serious.
Other negative experiences such as loneliness, the feeling of ‘’having nothing,’’
‘’not sure about your identity,’’ losing confidence, self-doubt, class time limitation, the
language barrier between the participants and the language of instruction, and a lack of
knowledge about ‘’what was happening to [them]’’ were described by the participants.
Due to a limitation of space, not all negative experiences were reviewed here.
Nevertheless, the body of information influenced the formation of themes.
5.4 Themes
The three themes presented here were formed based on repetition of information as well
as the TR’s judgment of what was most crucial to the participants’ understanding of the
process and the impact it had on them. Themes differ from concepts in that they start to
interpret what emerged from the data. Correlations were made to generate meaning,
which helped to create an understanding of the ‘big picture.’ The chosen themes were
also informed by common themes explored in published literature on AT projects with
YR and YAS in formal and non-formal educational settings.
Theme 1: The expression of feelings is subjective and is heavily influenced by young
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migrants’ life circumstances that determine their stability as refugees. On days that the
participants felt happy and secure, they expressed their feelings related to empowerment,
self-esteem, integration, and belonging in a hopeful way; on days that they felt down,
they expressed the opposite. The fear-filled journey of a refugee does not end when he or
she has landed in a place deemed ‘’safe.’’ It is not safe for them to relax and imagine
their futures if they do not have legal permission to remain. For young migrants, refugee
status serves two critical purposes. The primary and most obvious purpose is the status
that entitles them to obtain an identity card, a bank account, enroll in school, and seek
work, thus beginning a new life. This lays the foundation for the second purpose: feelings
of trust, belonging, hope, motivation, giving and receiving respect, and security. Legal
status must be granted before feelings of empowerment and integration can be nurtured.
While the notion of ‘subjective feelings’ may be an obvious one, studying them in a
particular group of YR and YAS helps researchers and teachers to value their
intelligences and knowledge grounded in their own experiences, thus contributing to the
interpretivist epistemology which desires to understand peoples’ interpretations of their
lived experiences.
Theme 2: Empowerment is an individual journey. Empowerment for one person may not
equate empowerment for another. For example, the act of getting up on stage might help
one participant overcome a fear, taking the first step toward empowerment; while another
person might need to play a lead part to feel the empowerment offered by AT pedagogy.
The participant-identified indicators set by the participants measure their empowerment.
For some, it might mean feeling more confident. For others, it might require receiving
positive feedback.
Like the AT process, YR and YAS empowerment appears to have a beginning,
middle, and end. It begins with interpreting the concept and determining one’s own
indicators used to measure it. Empowerment exhibited in the AT classroom then behaves
like a roller coaster, going up and down depending on their real-life circumstances. A
higher or lower sense of empowerment is then expressed upon the completion of a
creative and collaborative project. However, that level of embodied empowerment is
fragile and fleeting if their lives are unstable.
Theme 3: The perceived feelings of (or a lack of) acceptance into society determine
young migrants’ ability to integrate regardless of whether their perceptions match the
real feelings of host society members and intentions of governmental policies.
Discrimination can be debilitating. Some of the participants in this study felt
discriminated against for their ethnicity, religion, or simply for being an immigrant.
Additionally, some felt that the asylum policies in Sweden discriminated against their
nationality. This feeling of rejection prohibits YR and YAS from rebuilding their
identities as individuals and as members of a new society, making them feel like the
‘other.’ Meaning, they feel fundamentally exiled from the country they hoped would
accept them. Even if this is not the intention of the natives, and/or if policy regulations
are placed to protect the ‘’most vulnerable’’ that does not include them, the participants’
perception of this alienation from the society creates a deep divide between them and the
host society, prohibiting integration.
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5.5 Findings
To determine the findings, the TR reflected on the data corpus and synthesized what
emerged in the concepts and themes to address this study’s aim, objectives, and research
questions.
5.5.1 Empowerment
This study found that the positive participant-identified characteristics not only
contributed to the participants’ acquisition of empowerment, but also served as indicators
for it. While the negative experiences, like a lack of cooperation among group members
and ongoing fear of asylum rejection, impeded its growth. Overall, the participants
gained empowerment from the experience through explicit statements of increased
feelings of empowerment, evidenced improved self-esteem, and the fact that there
emerged 15 positive participant-identified characteristics and only two negative ones.
The final manuscript, the video of the performance, and final reflection journal entries
substantiated high levels of empowerment displayed through original artistic expression,
and the confidence with which it was presented, as well as written statements of pride,
gratitude, and improved confidence.
However, the empowerment experienced at the moment in which the participants
expressed it appeared to dissipate if their lives were in the same state of chaos or
confusion as they were before the AT process, or if something happened that caused them
to feel uncertain about their futures (i.e. societal rejection or deportation). The primary
factor, it appeared, that directed their feelings of agency, identity, and empowerment was
their refugee status. Without knowing if they could stay and join Swedish society, few
sustained feelings of empowerment carried through the anxiety of not knowing.
5.5.2 Integration
This study did not measure precisely YR and YAS’ levels of integration into the host
society since data were not collected from the performance’s audience members. It did,
however, shed light on how AT can help hone the skills YR and YAS need to initiate
opportunities for integrating. The TR observed that some participants developed their
communication, collaboration, and performance skills, which helped them to connect
with local people and make a unique and artistic contribution to the local society. The
experience of talking with members of the audience about their performance was an
integration exercise in itself. The sharing of their stories humanized the refugee
experience for some members of the audience (verified in the feedback some of the
participants received), thereby validating the participants’ humanity. Through
understanding and empathy, a link was formed between the performers and the audience
members.
However, the correlation between empowerment and integration in this study was
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found to be inconclusive. While the majority of the participants reported increased levels
of empowerment after the AT project, this did not appear to directly affect their
integration readiness. Despite several of the participants making positive connections
with members of the audience after the show, they did not explicitly state feeling more
integrated after the project. Perhaps this project was not enough to make the participants
feel that most native-born citizens viewed them as equals. It was certainly not enough to
remedy how some felt discriminated against in the asylum seeking process.
* * *
Integration and empowerment are not states of mind that happen to YR and young
asylum seekers. Rather, participants must play active roles in creating in. This can be a
‘’catch-22’’14 in that YR and YAS need to feel somewhat empowered and integrated to
feel able to cultivate empowerment and skills for integration within themselves. This
study found that feelings associated with empowerment and integration readiness could
be triggered by non-formal educational opportunities using AT, which can put this cycle
in motion. Empowerment and integration are not only revealed in their actions, but are
fragile feelings held within each individual and can change rapidly when their life
circumstances are altered or they do not feel well on a given day.
5.5.3 Sustainability of Empowerment and Integration
The participants exhibited excitement and confidence as well as surprise in their
abilities immediately following the final performance. Several of them stated explicitly
that their involvement in the project boosted their confidence. This was supported by the
quantitative data collected through the Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaires. It also
sparked in them the development of creative skills in writing and performing, exhibited
by their stories and poem that comprised the final manuscript, as well as their
performances in the final production. It was clear that the development of such skills and
the acknowledgement received for their exhibition sparked a sense of confidence, pride,
and belief in the participants’ own abilities, which served as indicators of empowerment.
In addition, the participants set out to change the local society’s ‘’negative views’’ of
refugees, and some felt that they communicated this message to many in attendance.
After the project’s completion, several participants expressed hope that the drama
class would continue. While the class met weekly, sometimes twice, for two and a half
months, it was not enough time to establish permanent feelings of and tools for
cultivating sustained empowerment and integration. The TR viewed the participants’
request as a call for sustainability. Ways to achieve sustainability of this project will be
addressed in the next section.
14 Catch-22 is a term to referring to a paradoxical situation in which one thing cannot happen before the
next thing, which cannot happen before the first thing. An example is trying to answer the question, ’’what
comes first, the chicken or the egg?’’ Joseph Heller coined the term in his 1961 novel, Catch-22.
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6 Discussion
The themes and findings presented in the previous section uncovered some notable
patterns whose implications warrant further discussion. By reflecting on the theories
introduced in chapter 2: Theoretical Framework and comparing this study’s findings
with the literature previously reviewed on AT with marginalized groups, the problems
and possibilities related to YR empowerment and integration can be better understood.
The following discussion will first explore how the participants benefited from this
project and the sustainability of those benefits, and will respond to RQ1 & RQ2. Then the
contribution this study makes to the field of applied theatre, its generalizability, and how
it can be replicated internationally will be examined. These will address RQ3 & RQ4.
6.1 How the Participants Benefited from the Research and the
Sustainability of Those Benefits
This project appeared to empower the participants as well as encourage them to
acquire additional skills for integrating themselves into society. The practice of creation,
collaboration, and performance helped the participants make meaning and embrace the
value of their histories. Yet, it is also apparent that these feelings and the momentum
needed to develop these skills are easily deflated when they encounter barriers, especially
asylum application rejection. This is a difficult problem to fix, particularly for young
people who have experienced trauma and loss. However, ongoing involvement in AT
projects could provide a safe space--an alternative reality or ‘other world’--for YR and
YAS to which they can escape when feelings of fear, anxiety, and doubt overwhelm
them.
In his writings on TO, Boal formulated the metaxis hypothesis. He derived it from
Plato’s idea of being between the human and the divine. It is a state of belonging--as
one’s true self and imagined self--to two different worlds simultaneously and
completely15 (Boal, 1995). It gives participants in any theatre-based activist work the
freedom to live in the real world while playing in the imagined world they would prefer
to live. For YR, metaxis has an additional third layer. They belong simultaneously to
their old lives in their motherland and their new lives in their host country, coping with
the distance from their old identities and the construction of their new ones. Additionally,
many of them do not feel comfortable with their realities as refugees in their host
countries and want to change the circumstances that impact how they feel. Living
between the old life and the new reality, and the new reality and the preferred future, is a
complex triangle involving loss, survival, and hope. Young refugees and YAS are
constantly processing and negotiating these conflicting feelings, and the theatre space can
help bridge those gaps by creating a boundary-less imagined reality where feelings and
ideas can be explored. If a sense of trust is built in this safe space, as some of the
participants in this study declared, then a supportive community can be formed to nurture
each participant through this process.
15 Note the example of metaxis in the data in section 5.3.6: Quality of Project and Social Impact
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Schininà (2004) theorizes that community building in difficult circumstances
must involve three components: relationships, communication, and creativity (p. 35).
Like the ‘parachuting into’ (and out of) practice warned against in section 4.7.1:
Generalizability and Sustainability, Schininà reinforces the harm that can be inflicted
when international ‘’saviors’’ disappear or maintain only feeble contact after a one- or
two-month workshop (Schininà, 2004, p. 34). To remedy this, it is crucial that efforts are
made to ensure that the community takes hold of its future according to its own models
(empowering approach). This requires that the participants are involved in the
identification of problems, activities, and proposed solutions from the start, which
concurrently introduces a cooperative and trust-building sense of community. Schininà
also mentions the need for creativity, namely theatre activities, as essential to building
community. He quotes Eugenio Barba, Italian author and theatre director, and pioneer of
the field of Theatre Anthropology:
The image of theatre that guides me is not that of action that unifies, but that of a
circle of encounters and barters. Various people gather around an action that binds
them and allows them to debate, to discover a territory, a time, in which to exchange
something. It is the very fact that each one can deepen his knowledge of his own
specificity that creates the solidarity between them (Barba, 2001, n.p. in Schininà,
2004, p. 32)
This formation of community works in both directions. The development of individual
identities in a space with others doing the same builds community based on a shared
experience and the overt and covert acknowledgement of similar challenges and potential
solutions. Simultaneously, this community, this safe space, provides support for
individuals to form their identities. Empowerment theory would also argue that while
individual identities are forming, so is a group identity.
A common theatre game (also played in this study’s class) called, Mirrors
requires a pair of participants to face one another and to mimic the movements and facial
expressions of the leader. Eventually, after switching leaders several times, there is no
leader, only followers of each other as they continuously flow through motions. This
activity serves as a physical representation of Barba’s mention of the discovery of
territory, the exchange, and the deepening of knowledge of oneself through connection
with others. Discovering new knowledge about oneself as an outcome of togetherness,
reflection, debate, and exchange can translate into a deeper awareness of one’s
individuality along with a group’s potential to create change.
Real and lasting change, however, takes time, cooperation and persistence. The
discussion of sustainability raises the importance for TRs to maintain meaningful contact
with the participants and find ways for the school or host organization to continue to offer
the educative activities visited during the project, ideally guided by the participants. To
address this, the TR may run the theatre class again in the autumn of 2018 with
Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm. She will also carefully document the lesson
plans and learning goals to give to EFS a handbook with the curriculum that outlines how
72
to lead the course. Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm is an organization for UM run
by UM and YR that promotes leadership by encouraging the members to run projects,
classes, demonstrations, etc. This TR will work with EFS to encourage one or two of the
participants from this study to facilitate the drama (theatre) class using the detailed
handbook described. She will also follow up on offers to perform the final show in other
venues, and in other cities in Sweden.
Moreover, the preservation of feelings and relationships that resulted from this
project would require the participants to be proactive in the continuation of their
empowerment experience. They would need to take the ‘feelings’ of empowerment
learned in this process to try ‘being empowered’ in their daily lives. To become
empowered, they must ‘’be the primary agents of their own liberation’’ (Boff & Boff,
1986, 31 in Breton, 1994, p. 34). However, according to Breton (1994), oppressed groups
cannot be empowered if they continue to be deprived of dignity, resources, and control.
The feeling of empowerment that emerges from AT work can only go so far in helping
the participants empower themselves. Yet, this does not mean that it is not a task worth
pursuing. If YR and YAS feel that no one cares for them, they are far less likely to care
for themselves and their futures. The empowering feelings and the integration skills that
accompany them need reinforcement through ongoing AT projects. An initial project
must be repeated or evolve into similar projects while the original TR maintains contact
with the participants.
To accomplish this, perhaps the concept of empowerment necessitates further
exploration. Rather than treating empowerment as a singular concept, the discovered
indicators (self-esteem, pride, etc.) help to understand empowerment as a complex and
dynamic model that is unique to each person. Put another way, empowerment is an
individualized model made up of a unique set of participant-identified characteristics that
define empowerment for them. Additionally, as time passes and they mature, this
complex model and the indicators (or characteristics) it contains might change. Like
individual learning plans for students with special needs in schools, AT projects could be
used for identifying and embodying what empowerment means for each YR by (1)
uncovering the indicators they use to construct it, (2) assist the YR in acting upon this
sense of empowerment by writing and performing a play about their refugee experience
or another topic of importance to them, and (3) gain feedback from the audience.
Concurrently, this sharing with the audience could spark a dialog between the YR and
those in attendance, which can create pathways for integration. It is arguable that the
more integrated YR feel, the more empowered they can become.
The learning process taken by AT could help the participants understand what
empowerment means to them, which is knowledge they could carry with them. If they
better understand what they need to feel empowered, they could utilize that in other areas
of their education, and in their daily lives. Taking that self-awareness with them outside
of the AT classroom makes that knowledge gained sustainable.
The findings in this study suggest that if YR and YAS have agency over their
lives and futures, then AT projects have great potential to empower them and equip them
73
with skills they need to integrate into the society as long as the projects take an
empowering approach and make efforts toward sustainability. If the participants do not
exhibit agency, the work is less likely to make a lasting impact. However, it can still
cultivate creativity and other positive characteristics that can help the participants feel
more confident during and immediately after the experience. This researcher contends
that the big, global refugee crisis is best treated with small, ongoing, local solutions.
6.2 Contribution to the Field of Applied Theatre for Young Refugees
and Generalizability
This study contributes most uniquely to the field of AT due to its long and carefully
described process (especially the explicit use of AR), its unique final production, and the
variety of data collected. Most AT projects reviewed prior to this study examined single
workshops or one- or two-week classes. Also, few studies involved an original
production that was written and performed by the students about their migration
experiences. Most contributory, this study collected a wide range of qualitative data and
used triangulation to compare them, allowing for higher levels of validity and reliability.
While it is challenging to generate a theory of how exactly AT empowers and
integrates young migrants based on one case study, the ‘whether it can’ is confirmed.
That is to say, the results from this study show that AT can help YR and YAS cultivate
empowerment and skill readiness for integration if it begins with a clear and agreed-upon
understanding of the concepts and the participant-identified characteristics that mark their
growth. This means taking a strengths-based approach using AT and TO, or similar
theories, as guides. Beyond the understandings of their experiences (arrived at through
discussion with the participants), the practice of performing and storytelling can help the
participants make meaning of their histories and share them with the public, which can
empower the participants. When empowered, due to feeling that they have contributed to
the society, they can be ready to take actions toward integration. If a young person does
not feel empowered to integrate him or herself, little can be done. Change cannot be
forced on those who are not prepared to make it. However, if apprehensive newcomers
need more and different opportunities to begin learning to empower and integrate
themselves, then small, community-based projects like this can have significant impact.
While the small sample in this case study makes generalizing across a larger
population and across borders difficult, the trends already discussed present a powerful
potential for using AT with YR and YAS in any context. Supporting Bryman’s assertion
about the generalizability of the theory behind case studies in section 4.7: Quality
Criteria, Rowley (2002) discusses generalization as something that ‘’can only be
performed if the case study design has been appropriately formed by theory, and can
therefore be seen to add to the established theory’’ (p. 20). This study confirmed both the
need to determine participant-identified indicators for the growth of individual
empowerment and that the development of individual empowerment promotes group
empowerment and visa versa, which supports empowerment theory. However, it did not
go so far as to track the individuals’ participant-identified characteristics and tailor the
74
curriculum to each participant separately. This project therefore, in the end and somewhat
unconsciously, emphasized group (or community) empowerment through the writing and
performing of the final show, and by observing the effects that it had on the members of
the group. It did so by assessing how the participants felt in terms of empowerment,
resilience, integration, and other feelings at the start, during, and after the AT project.
The other theories used to develop this project were Freire’s Pedagogy of the
Oppressed (PO) and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. This project supports that the
notion that participant-centered and dialogic aspects of AT can help to examine issues of
local importance and collectively imagine solutions to address societal problems or
inequities. Rather than only thinking about how different they would like their
circumstances to be, this project enabled the participants to talk about and act upon their
desires to be seen and for their experiences to be validated by each other and the local
population. Whether that translated into their actions in the real world and sparked lasting
social change, expressed by TO as the ultimate goal, is undetermined. However, the onset
of feelings of empowerment and developing skills for integration as tools needed for
individual transformation and social change were confirmed by this study.
6.3 International Repeatability
Each case study using AT will be different considering the language and cultural
differences in each country, not to mention the access to or lack of resources that might
be available. Applied theatre is flexible in this regard because it can take place in any
setting, in or out of a conventional theatre, and needs only the minds, bodies, and voices
of the participants. What is important is that the process is one that is tailored to the
individuals, uncovering their specific identities and desires for change. If executed well,
this process should help lay new emotional tracks16 for the YR and YAS to recover from
any trauma and empower them to integrate into their host societies, and move forward in
their lives as ‘agents of change17.’
The key to replication across international contexts is to design projects that keep
in mind the common thread among all YR and YAS, and the careful documentation of
this process. While there is no ‘universal refugee experience’ according to the UNHCR,
this common thread includes the feelings and needs that result from being a refugee,
regardless of where they come from or where they land. Therefore, AT projects need not
only commitment from the TR, but a care-filled investment in their individual journeys
that consider their vulnerabilities and strengths. Applied theatre work can happen in any
language, in any country, with any amount of resources as long as the TR is sensitive and
mindful to the hurt, loss, fear, joy, hope, and pride that each participant feels on varying
levels, and helps them channel that into their original work. Additionally, the TR must be
deeply invested in the success of the project, which promotes trust and a sense of
achievement in the group (or community). This then helps the group identity to form,
16 The idea of ’laying new tracks’ to help refugees heal from previous trauma is discussed in Balfour et al.,
2015; Cahill, 2014; and Nicholson, 2005. 17 Discussed in Morsillo & Prilleltensky, 2007 and labeled a ‘’transformational approach’’
75
which can live on after the conclusion of the initial project.
With the careful detailing of the AT process used and theories that assist in it,
along with thorough consideration and description of the context, researchers can identify
more common threads among different case studies that help them to ‘zoom in’ on best
practices. This researcher believes that if AT practitioners understand this and empathize
with the participants while implementing an informed, carefully designed AT project
using an empowering approach, an empowering impact will be made, albeit potentially
only temporarily. This warrants, however, only more replication.
76
7 Reflections on Research
Action research was an effective and appropriate method for this research. It helped the
TR balance the roles of teacher and researcher, and guided the research toward taking
action to benefit the participants. This was most appropriate since the TR discovered that
this project qualifies as activist or emancipatory research, a field that has grown in
educational research in the last three decades18 (Behar-Horenstein & Feng, 2015). The
AR look-think-act cycle (Figure F: Action Research Cycle) was used throughout the
project’s execution to help identify what was of most importance to the participants with
regards to their feelings of empowerment and integration readiness. It then allowed for
the participants to manifest their desires in a theatre performance that had a great impact
on them. Lastly, it helped them and the TR to reflect on what this impact meant and how,
potentially, to maintain the empowering feelings associated with it.
The reflection phase of AR also revealed some gaps in this study. The
participant-identified characteristics that served as indicators to measure the
empowerment experienced by the participants were analyzed as collective indicators as
opposed to individual ones. Only after the analysis was completed did the TR realize that
each participant had his own understanding of and desire for empowerment, which
contained a unique set of indicators, and those indicators should have been tracked. If she
were to repeat this study, she would find a systematic way to assist the participants in
self-identifying their empowerment indicators and then involve them in assessing their
own sense of empowerment as an empowering activity in itself. She would encourage
them to be mindful if/how their interpretations of empowerment change, and if their
indicators to measure it change or stay the same. This involvement of the participants in
their own evaluation could help create sustainable vehicles for them to continue
evaluating and cultivating their sense of empowerment beyond the project. It could do
this by equipping them with tools to observe and create empowering actions or exercises
to use in their daily lives.
As the TR conducted her analysis and report write-up, she began to question
where the line falls between PAR and action research. When designing her study, she
assumed that the terms were essentially interchangeable. She thought that as long as the
participants were actively participating, the method was participatory. However, as the
research progressed, she began to understand that PAR requires the participants’
participation in all stages of the process. The participants were involved with identifying
and analyzing the problem, assisting in developing the lesson plans, and writing and
preforming the play. However, the sample was not involved in the analysis of the data
corpus, nor did they confirm this study’s findings. The TR decided on the potential future
of this project by assembling a formal course description and lesson plans for the
continuation of the drama class at Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm. A desire to
continue the class and repeat the performance was voiced by the students, however, and
therefore has potential for members of this sample to be involved in further action taken
18 Emancipatory research is a research perspective of producing knowledge that can benefit disadvantaged
people. It uses an interventionist research design that designs with and for people that may be marginalized
(Noel, 2016).
77
by this study.
It is worth noting that this project only achieved the third stage (out of five) of the
empowerment process. It identified the problems related to refugee empowerment,
enrolled the participants in inspiring each another to work toward overcoming the
problems (conscientizing), and created an action to institute the change they wished to
see. It did not, however, reach the fourth and fifth stages of mobilizing (starting a
movement involving the oppressed and non-oppressed) and overcoming oppression. This
project did, nevertheless, incorporate all three steps of EE: listening, dialog, and action.
One of the main purposes for doing case study research is for the researchers’
own learning process in developing skills needed to do good research. According to
Flyvberg (2006), ‘’If researchers wish to develop their own skills to a high level, then
concrete, context-dependent experience is just as central for them as professionals
learning any other specific skills’’ (p. 225). The TR gained a wealth of knowledge by
conducting this study. For, while she has extensive experience teaching drama, she had
no previous experience studying the process using social science research methods. This
taught her many things, among them the delicate power dynamic that often exists
between the teacher and the participants. However intentionally the TR worked to lead a
democratic and empowering process that eliminated power dynamics, her mastery of the
language of instruction (English) and the participants’ lack of fluency reduced shared
control over the process. The participants were required to express themselves in a
language most of them were not comfortable with, and this limited their ability to
understand, express themselves, and contribute. She would recommend that future AT
projects are conducted in a shared language, or if not, that the aims of the project include
to teach YR and YAS the language of the host country. Also, the TR wondered if, since
she taught many of the participants the word empowerment and helped them to
understand the meaning, they were more inclined to use the term when describing their
experiences of the drama class.
The use of NVivo to identify and organize codes was enormously helpful for
uncovering codes that may have otherwise gone unnoticed and for the validity it
contributed to the research’s findings, as opposed to the TR relying solely on her
intuition. Nonetheless, intuition played a substantial role in the formation of themes and
theory.
Ultimately, the results of this study allude to neglected areas of research and
further questions. The specific topic of this study does not yet have a large body of
published research. While there are some studies published on the various uses of AT
with marginalized youth, there are few that address integration, and even fewer that
address how to cultivate empowerment among YR and young asylum seekers. This
presents an opportunity for further study. A longer and more comprehensive study with a
larger sample size, including girls, would allow for stronger and more generalizable (of
theory) conclusions to be reached. The collection of follow up data about levels of
sustained empowerment and integration skills among the participants would add
perspective on the effectiveness of AT pedagogy for these purposes. International
78
replication in different contexts, with participants of different backgrounds, and different
languages of instruction would also help to zoom in on the aspects of AT pedagogy that
best empower the participants and transcend the differences between them. Furthermore,
the questions for future research raised by this study include, (1) can AT projects go
beyond the presentation of a performance to create connections between YR/YAS and
native citizens? And (2) could a more exact definition for YR/YAS empowerment be
developed to help guide participants when using ET and/or TO to facilitate AT studies?
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8 Conclusions
This study served as an experiment to examine whether AT pedagogy could contribute to
empowerment, assisting in the integration of young refugees. Along the way, much was
discovered about ethical and effective techniques for doing this based on the use of AR,
an examination of previous case studies, and the participants’ input. The meanings behind
empowerment and integration first required exploring, then the ET and TO (with
contributions from Freire’s PO) theories required understanding, the approach and
activities determined and navigated, the action (final performance) agreed upon and
executed, the data gathered, and the analysis conducted to identify indicators, themes,
findings, further actions, and theory through comparison with previously published
studies.
This study found that AT projects could cultivate empowerment and skills for
integration readiness for YR and YAS when using ET and TO as well as a strengths-
based, democratic approach. The creation and performance of a final show, as an action
to promote social and individual change, can be empowering and integrating
opportunities in themselves if the participants are proud of their work, and if it is well
received by an audience of native citizens. Certain precautions need to be taken, however.
The concepts need to be understood and agreed upon by the sample and their TR at the
onset of the project, and a system must be created to establish and track the individual
participant-identified characteristics that measure their feelings associated with the
concepts. Each individual will have a distinctive understanding of the concept(s), and will
need to determine his or her own unique set of indicators to measure it/them. These
individualized indicators can be uncovered using AR, but must be done with careful,
participant-involved planning and a transparent description of the research process.
Additionally, for empowerment and integration readiness to last, ways of repeating the
AT process, or aspects of it, need to be established by the teacher-researcher. In theory,
after enough repetition, the participants will possess the tools and self-awareness to
implement empowerment and integration readiness in other aspects of their lives.
The refugee crisis is a global problem that requires the involvement of local,
community-based solutions. We cannot only depend on governments, schools, and
humanitarian organizations to heal and integrate young refugees and asylum seekers. The
integration process, which requires the migrants to feel empowered and equal, will take
time and must involve educative projects like this one to help societies form new, diverse
and inclusive identities. Theatre has a transformational capacity for individuals and
society, and when applied and repeated, can create real and lasting change.
To view the participants’ final performance featured in this study, visit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw5qd7E-SDQ&t=945s
80
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10 Appendices
10.1 Hand-drawn Study Design Map
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10.2 Participant Consent Form
Consent to Participate in Research:
Drama for Empowerment with Refugee Youth
Introduction: You are being invited to participate in a study conducted by Elise Lammers
from the Department of Education at Stockholm University. This study is part of a
Master thesis. Participation is entirely voluntary. Please read the information below and
ask questions about anything you do not understand before deciding whether to
participate.
You are being invited to participate in this study because you are a youth (ages 15-24) in
refugee or asylum-seeking status.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the growth or renewal of empowerment,
resilience, and other self-identified, need-based characteristics through drama activities.
This will be studied with the young people that enrol and attend this drama class with
Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm (EFS)
Procedure: If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to attend all
Sunday classes (13:00-16:00) from January 21 until March 25, and to keep a journal
documenting your experience(s). All classes will be held at Barnrättsbyrån, Hornsgatan
83 in Stockholm. Journals will be provided. Classes will be held in English.
If you are below the age of 18, you will need parental or guardians consent to participate
in this project. A guardians consent form will be provided for you, and must be signed
and dated by your guardian or parent.
You might also be asked to do the following things:
Attend a one-on-one audio-recorded interview with the researcher at the
beginning and after the 10-week course.
The researcher will ask you to share as much information as the participant is
comfortable sharing
The interview will last 30-45 minutes
Participate in a focus group (group discussion) at the beginning and after the 10-
week course
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Potential Risks and Discomforts: The participant is allowed to refuse to answer any
questions in the interviews, focus groups, or classes for any reason. The participant can
also choose not to participate in any given activity during the class. The participant
should take physical responsibility when engaging in the drama work to avoid injury to
him/herself or anyone else.
Confidentiality: Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that
can be identified with the participant will remain confidential and will be disclosed only
with their permission, including names. Audio files of the interviews will be coded and
password protected. Only the researcher will have access to audio files as well as
transcriptions of the interviews.
Participation and Withdrawal: If you volunteer to be in this study, you may withdraw at
any time without consequences of any kind. But the researcher asks for you to notify her
if you choose not to continue. You may also refuse to answer any questions you do not
want to answer.
Contact: If you have any questions or concerns about the study, please contact Elise
Lammers at +46.76.913.0761 or [email protected]. You can also contact the
thesis supervisor Jonas Gustafsson at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or by calling the university.
Consent: Your signature below indicates that you have decided to participate in the
project and that you have read and understood the information provided above. You make
keep this letter for future reference. Thank you for your participation.
Participant’s name (print):________________________
Participant’s name (signature): __________________________ Date:__________
Researcher’s name (print): _______________________________
Researcher’s name (signature): ___________________________ Date : _________
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10.3 Guardian Consent Form
Guardian’s Consent for Minors to Participate in Research:
Drama for Empowerment with Refugee Youth
Introduction: Your child/dependent is being invited to participate in a study conducted by
Elise Lammers from the Department of Education at Stockholm University. This study is
part of a Master thesis. Participation is entirely voluntary. Please read the information
below and ask any questions before consenting to your child/dependent’s participation.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the growth or renewal of empowerment,
resilience, and other self-identified, need-based characteristics with refugee youth (ages
15-24) through drama activities. This will be studied with the young people that enrol and
attend this drama class with Ensamkommandes Förbund Stockholm (EFS)
Procedure: Classes will be held every Sunday from January 21 until March 25 (13:00-
16:00) at Barnrättsbyrån, Hornsgatan 83 in Stockholm. Classes will be held in English.
Students will be asked to keep a journal documenting their experience(s), and some will
be asked to volunteer for interviews and/or group discussions. Journals will be provided.
Potential Risks and Discomforts: The participant is allowed to refuse to answer any
questions in the interviews, group discussions, or classes for any reason. The participant
can also choose not to participate in any given activity during the class. The participant
should take physical responsibility when engaging in the drama work to avoid injury to
him/herself or anyone else.
Confidentiality: Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that
can be identified with the participant will remain confidential and will be disclosed only
with your permission, including names. Audio files of the interviews will be coded and
password protected. Only the researcher will have access to audio files as well as
transcriptions of the interviews.
Participation and Withdrawal: If your child/dependent volunteers to be in this study, and
you consent, he/she may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. But the
researcher asks for someone to notify her if they choose not to continue. Your
child/dependent may also refuse to answer any questions they do not want to answer.
92
Contact: If you have any questions or concerns about the study, please contact Elise
Lammers at +46.76.913.0761 or [email protected]. You can also contact the
thesis supervisor Jonas Gustafsson at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or by calling the university.
Consent: Your signature below indicates that you consent to allow your child/dependent
to participate in this drama project, and that you have read and understood the
information provided. You make keep this letter for future reference. Thank you.
Guardian’s name (print): ________________________________
Guardian’s name (signature): ____________________________ Date: _________
Researcher’s name (print): ______________________________
Researcher’s name (signature): ___________________________ Date: _________
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10.4 Interview Guide 1
Estimated length: 30-45 minutes (audio recorded)
Questions to be sent to volunteers in advance.
Keep in mind Extension questions (Can you tell me more about that?), Encouragement (You’re doing
great, take your time) and Example questions (Can you give me an example of what you mean?).
1. In 5 minutes or less, can you tell me something about what it’s like to be a young
refugee? (Grand tour question)
2. Tell me what you know about Drama/Theater. (Grand tour question)
3. How can Drama help young refugees?
4. What do you hope to get out of this Drama class? (If they answer improved
English, ask them to explain why this is important to them.)
5. Do you understand the terms: empowerment, resilience, and integration?
6. If so, to what level do you consider yourself empowered, resilient, and integrated
into Sweden? You can describe it using a 5-point scale, 1 being low and 5 being
high.
7. What other characteristics (in general) do you think refugee youth in Sweden
need? Such as: higher self-esteem, better communication skills, improved well-
being, stronger ability to focus, stronger sense of identity, etc. (If they agree with
identity, ask them to define if they mean individual identity or group identity (as
immigrants, refugee youth, Muslims, etc.)).
8. If we were to do a final performance for an audience, who would you want the
audience to be and what would you want the purpose of the show to be? For
example: for pure entertainment, to share with your friends (and families if they
are here) what you learned in the drama class, to teach the general public in
Sweden something about you, etc.?
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10.5 Interview Guide 2
Estimated length: 30-45 minutes (audio recorded)
Questions to be sent to volunteers in advance.
Assure them that today I am the researcher, and if they have criticisms or negative experiences they are
willing to discuss, they should feel that they can share them without causing offence.
Keep in mind Extension questions (Can you tell me more about that?), Encouragement (You’re doing
great, take your time) and Example questions (Can you give me an example of what you mean?).
1. How would you describe your experience in this drama project?
2. How do you think the class as a whole responded to the experience of the drama
class and performance?
3. What did you learn about yourself during this process?
4. What do you think the group learned during this process?
5. Was there anything you feel like you should have learned but you didn’t?
6. Did you get out of it what you hoped you’d get out of it? (I can remind them what
they said in interview 1.)
7. On a scale from 1-5, how empowered, resilient, and integrated do you feel now?
8. Do you feel that the final show served its purpose? (I can remind them what they
said in interview 1.)
9. How do you feel the audience responded to the show? Does it change the way you
think about Swedish society and your place in it?
10. Would you recommend that other young refugees do something like this?
11. Would you want to do a project like this again? If so, what would you change?
12. How do you feel today about being a refugee/asylum seeker?
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10.6 Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale Questionnaire
Code Name_____________________________
Instructions: Below is a list of statements dealing with your general feelings about
yourself. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement.
1. On a whole, I am satisfied with myself.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
2. At times I think I am no good at all.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
3. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
4. I am able to do things as well as most other people.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
5. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
6. I certainly feel useless at times.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
7. I feel that I’m a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
8. I wish I could have more respect for myself.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
9. All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
10. I take a positive attitude toward myself.
a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly Disagree
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10.7 Word Cloud
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10.8 Open Coding
Codes Concepts
Refugee experience
Recovery
Refugee experience con
Refugee experience pro
Refugees as teachers
Refugee experience
Integration experience
Cultural Comparison
Integration con
Integration pro
Integration Sweden
Personal need-reflections
on integration
Integration
experience
Empowerment Experience
Empowerment lack of
Agency
Agency lack of
Resilience
Refugees as teachers
Recognition/acknowledge
ment received
Empowerment
experience
Hope
Identity
Leadership
Love
Pride
Responsibility
Self-confidence
Self-esteem
Self-expression
Self-improvement
Self-reflection
Communication
Cooperation
Courage
Empathy
Fear-anxiety
Loneliness
Participant-identified
characteristics
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Community
Cooperation Community
Quality
Process
Learning Process
Process class con
Participant descriptors of
process
Lessons learned
Participant descriptors of
performance
Recognition/acknowledg
ement received
Quality of project
Social impact
Human rights Social impact
Sustainability of
experience
Looking ahead, future
plans
Sustainability of
experience Cooperation lack of
Empathy lack of
Fear-anxiety
Loneliness
Refugee experience
con
Integration experience
con
Empowerment lack of
Agency lack of
Negative experiences
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10.9 Descriptions of Codes
Background Codes:
Drama for skill building: Expressions of what the participants could learn from drama
Drama-Theatre Defined: Participants’ understanding of drama and/or theatre, its origins,
history, functions, etc.
Empowerment defined: Participant definitions of empowerment
Integration defined: Participant definitions and explanations of integration
Refugee crisis: Comments on the worldwide situation of refugees and some personal
anecdotes
Refugee defined: Participant definitions of refugees and what it means (to them
personally) to be a refugee
Resilience defined: Participant definitions and explanations of of resilience
Theatre for refugees: Participant speculations on how drama could help refugees
Descriptive Codes:
Agency: Statements expressing ‘control’ of themselves and/or their futures
Communication: Statements related to expressing themselves verbally or non-verbally, or
language acquisition
Community: Defining community, the need for community and friendships, participants’
personal accounts of building community during this study, creating networks, etc.
Cooperation lack of: Descriptions of when the participants did not work well together or
disappointed each other
Cooperation: Working collaboratively within the group, respecting one another, relying
on each other, team work
Courage: Expressions of experiencing courage or bravery
Cultural comparison: When the participants compared countries, cultures, or religions to
describe something
Empathy: Accounts of when the participants experienced empathy from local citizens
Empathy lack of: Descriptions of when locals or politicians know nothing about their
100
experience
Empowerment: Descriptions of what empowerment is to them; how they experience it;
why they need or want it; its importance; discussions of empowerment in society; and
expressions that indicated a sense of empowerment
Empowerment lack of: Expressions of low or no empowerment
Fear-anxiety: Fear or anxiety related to the performance
Hope: Hope for the future as a result of the performance
Human rights: Descriptions of their need, and lack of, equal human rights
Identity: Explicit statements using the word identity; a desire to better understand their
identities and for their identities to be recognized
Integration: Discussions of integration; the challenges they face around it; their desire for
it, their processes of doing it, etc.
Integration con: Negative experiences related to integration
Integration pro: Positive experiences related to integration
Integration Sweden: Integration experiences related directly to Sweden
Leadership: A declaration of having learned leadership skills in this course
Learning Process: Descriptions of learning and things learned, in and out of the course
Loneliness: Loneliness related to their life circumstances as refugees
Looking Ahead, Future Plans: Reflections on how to use what they learned in this course
in their lives and what they would like to do next
Love: Expressions of the need for love and what one needs to do to obtain it
Participant Descriptors of Performance: Positive feedback on the performance
Participant Descriptors of Process: Positive and negative descriptions of the process
Personal need-reflections on integration: Descriptions of personal integration
experiences
Pride: Feelings of pride following the performance
Process: Objectives descriptions of the process
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Process class con: Criticisms of the process
Quality: Ideas for how to make the final performance good/worthwhile
Recognition/Acknowledgement received: Feedback participants received from audience
following the performance
Refugee experience: Descriptions of their refugee experience
Refugee experience con: Hardships related to their refugee experiences
Refugee experience pro: Some good experiences in Sweden and related to sharing their
stories
Refugee experience recovery: Accounts of how the project helped heal some from their
migration experiences
Refugees as teachers: Contributions the participants could make or made by sharing their
stories with an audience; a desire to teach local citizens about their culture, ethnicity,
religion, etc.
Resilience: Responses to interview questions regarding resilience; descriptions of
feelings after the performance that demonstrated resilience
Responsibility: An explicit statement of having learned responsibility
Self-confidence: Explicit and implicit statements of feeling confidence in themselves
Self-esteem: Defining self-esteem, stating a need for it; reflections on self-esteem gained
from the drama project
Self-expression: The expression that drama facilitates; the need to express oneself; how to
express oneself; feelings associated with self-expression
Self-improvement: Descriptions of how they wanted to improve themselves and what they
learned that contributed to their self-improvement
Self-reflection: Reflections on observations made about themselves during the process as
well as remembering their histories
Social impact: Ways they wanted the project to make an impact on society; expressions
of wanting to change negative views of refugees
Sustainability of project: Expressions of wanting to repeat the performance and continue
the class